


Fate's a Long Climb

by Rydia_Auften



Category: Horizon: Zero Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Accidental Sex, Action/Adventure, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Falling In Love, First Love, First Time, Fluff, Hot Tub, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-19
Updated: 2018-09-13
Packaged: 2019-05-25 17:04:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 27,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14981642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rydia_Auften/pseuds/Rydia_Auften
Summary: Before Aloy leaves the Cut, she visits Ikrie for one last great hunt.  The two women have paths set for opposite directions, how will things change when Aloy accidently seduces Ikrie.Heavy on the smut, the plot is just an excuse to get to more smut :D





	1. Warmth: Banuk Slang for Something Done in Closed Tents.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aloy wants to share one last great hunt with Ikrie before she leaves The Cut forever. 
> 
> Things never go the exactly the way she plans...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoiler Alert: The story assumes you've played HZD and completed the Frozen Wilds. The story isn't going to make much sense otherwise.
> 
> Warning: I don't use a beta reader but I try to clean it up.

Disclaimer: I own no part of Horizon Zero Dawn nor its characters

Fate's a Long Climb (up a High Cliff for People like you and me)

Elisabet's description of where she grew up led her to an area she had walked past but never stopped. It was within the Carja Sundom near its eastern border but the closest town to her would be Free Heap in The Claim.

It was a personal time for Aloy, to finally meet her heroic mother. It was her time to rejoice, to grieve, and to consider her future and where she wanted to go next in life.

"Your watch is finally over Elisabet" She said after she buried her mother above ground under stones. The woman had kept a vigil to see the world both end and be reborn. Her rest was well deserved.

Unfortunately, due to her location not far from trading routes, Aloy's privacy was soon interrupted. The first was a group of Oseram who were heading to Meridian to help rebuild the bridge. While it was pleasant to have some company for a short while, when they left, Aloy deeply regretted not swearing her visitors to secrecy as to her location.

It was a matter of days before more travellers 'happened' upon her, and everybody wanted to hear a story. This unto itself was not so terrible, but as more visitors came, they wanted to hear her speak of events that she had no part of, nor skill in. She had heard that she had taken down a glinthawk and welded the wings onto her armour so that she herself could now fly. She also heard about the time she allowed a thunderjaw to swallow her whole so that she could kill it from the inside.

The final straw was when she heard some Carja talking amongst themselves around their campfire about a special envoy the Sun King Avad was sending this way. Their speculation that it was some romantic gesture was the fuel she needed to walk away from Elisabet's vigil. This was how she found her way to The Cut where she found more challenges and rewards. She even found herself being the temporary chief of a werak.

Once Hephaestus had been subdued, the last thing to do was to take down the daemonic fireclaws. She knew that a glory seeking werak would come along able to take on the monstrous machines, not likely not before innocent people were slaughtered. This was her justification for staying in The Cut for at least another week longer. Sure, it was a deadly place to live; the cold could kill a person before any daemon forged beast had the chance to try, but she liked its people. People didn't treat her like she was some kind of divine being, they all just knew her as Aloy the great hunter.

Now, three months later, her reasons to avoid going back to the place she would call home were coming to an end. She just needed to find that last fire claw, and it had been reported to have been seen close to the hunting ground where she knew Ikrie was currently staying.

The girl was consoling herself from the loss of her lifelong companion and any werak she may have been a part of by losing herself in the hunt. Aloy could find traces of her in the random machine corpses she came across the closer she came to Snowchants hunting grounds. She found a fallen scorcher and a pack of scrappers with Ikrie's signature kill marks which included shattered front paws and then three arrow holes lodged into their foreskulls.

Most hunters left their arrows behind as evidence of their hunting prowess, but Ikrie used her arrows faster than she could carve them, and she didnt think that the traders were giving her their best prices so she hated to buy. She had told Aloy that her signature would be no signature at all.

It was dusk as Aloy marched up the Snowchants hill. She was carrying a couple of dead rabbits for their dinner tonight when from the west she saw a flame rise high above the trees accompanied by a distant roar.

"Looks like someone found the fire claw; I should check to see if they need a hand."

Aloy ran towards the action with her ropecaster ready to shoot in a seconds notice. She heard the roar of the terror long before she saw the fight. The ground beneath her shook with the sound of heavy feet and trees being toppled over. Before long, she could see the hulking monster in the near distance pacing. This meant whomever it was fighting was currently out of its field of vision.

She crept closer hoping it wouldn't spot her before she could find the hunter who had started this fight. She hated how loud the snow crunched beneath her feet despite the cover of the long grass around her. The beast was beginning to slow its pace down signifying it was no longer searching, but it bore a limp from a wound in its right forefoot. It was bleeding sparks, clearly it had been shattered in the fight.

"Ikrie" Aloy whispered as loudly as she felt safe to do. "I know you're here, are you alright?"

She looked around herself seeing the darkness of the forest to the north, a Cliffside to the south, and wide open space everywhere else.

A soft crunching sound from behind alerted her to the footsteps that were close by. Quickly she turned to see the grinning hunter stepping into the sunken steps Aloy's feet had left in the snow.

"Aloy, I'm glad to see you again." she began "Do you see the mess I made of that?" They both looked towards the injured monster.

"Looks like you could have taken this one down alone?" Aloy complimented, her focus verifying that its life had been diminished by half.

"I've been fighting this one for several hours, and I have to admit I'm starting to feel tired. If my supply of ice bombs wasn't almost gone I'd still be out there. I was thinking on finishing it off in the morning..."

"How about now?" the flame haired woman insisted. In her mind she saw no reason to not use any advantage they had. Ikrie didn't have the bombs, but Aloy had something else.

"You should use my ice rail, the damage it causes is enormous"

Aloy pulled the deadly weapon off her back and handed it towards the other woman who held her hand to it yet not touching. She gazed at it with respect.

"I dont think I'm allowed to handle that one" Ikrie said nervously. "only the most esteemed Banuk wield such weapons."

Not one to adhere to any cultural normative, Aloy took the wrist of the other woman and turned her hand so the Icerail rested within it.

"You are one of the Banuk I esteem the most" The outlander spoke plainly. "You're a fierce hunter, but this one will challenge your style because it's a close range weapon."

Ikrie bore the weight of the weapon as she closed her hand about its handle. She looked at it closely noting it had a power source from which it created its signature frost cloud. She had seen it used in a hunt before, and just as Aloy had said, its user had to be nearly touching a beast to get the most effect from it.

"That's suicide." Ikrie noted grimly pointing it, through the grass, in the direction of the monster. "From afar I was lucky to even dodge its flames, but up close I would have to somehow be able to jump further than I ever have when its radius explodes...Not that I'm not up for a challenge-"

"You wouldn't be alone." Aloy cut in, showing the Banuk woman her ropecaster. "I'll tie it down and keep its attention on me. When its fully pinned down, you come in and freeze it. Once its been covered in frost it will be vulnerable and we begin firing regular arrows at its weak spots, basically anything that glows."

Ikries eyes went from the ropecaster to the monster, pondering how much better her odds were if she took it on with another hunter. She looked up at Aloy again and remembered how the Nora woman told her about her preference for fighting alone. She couldn't help but smirk. The opportunity to hunt with this one again was too good to pass up on.

"I'm in. Let's go before it starts scavenging for machine parts. I also killed a couple of ravagers that were travelling with the beast so it will try to repair itself shortly."

"Then here I go..."

Aloy crept up ahead using the spread of grass to get closer to the monster. It had indeed started drilling out metal pieces out Ikrie's earlier kill. This gave her the opportunity to take it from behind.

One!-two!

It's hind legs were bound to the earth and it stood immediately and turned to face its attacker who immediately struck it with one more rope to its neck.

The roar from its mouth shook the ground beneath them and flames surged from beneath its belly as it struggled with trying to remove its bonds yet keeping sight of its prey.

"Ikrie now!" Aloy shouted, shooting it again as its hind legs became freed.

The northern girl answered quickly with icy blasts but it wasnt enough time to completely cover it with frost before it lept forward; Aloy rolled just in the nick of time from large claws that struck the ground where she had just been standing.

Ikrie ran back as flames began to generate within its belly again, it was about to burn the ground within its radius just before it turned some other land mass to molten lava. Aloy did likewise and knew she had only seconds after the blasts to rope it again before it was fully free to take chase.

Aloy leaped towards a large rock before her as she felt the temperature beneath her boots quickly rise. She turned mid air and fired again, missing the target of its head and instead lodging into its busted paw which would surely not support the ropes longer than a few seconds.

Her feet landed and she rolled into position to take another shot but it stood and leaped forward, taking its chance the rope would fail.

"one-two"

One of the ropes landed but the machine's body was already about to smash into her. Swiftly, she jumped forward directly under the beast who would not be able to strike her mid air, but she would be still within striking distance of the beast when it rose again.

"one-two-three" ropes connected and Ikrie attacked without fail.

Its inner chambers made the clicking sounds like it was charging up to explode again, but the Banuk woman did not cease and soon the gears within creaked as the entire exterior of the monster frosted over white.

"Arrows!"

Ikrie struck 2 arrows at once into its belly while Aloy focused on the sacks on the sides of its shoulders. This opportunity would be brief as the loud engine within began to re-energize and it would explode as planned.

The battle raged another quarter of the hour. They had the advantage of it being injured from its earlier fight with the lone Banuk woman and Aloys experience at felling these creatures.

The final strike in the end was Ikrie. It had been on its hind legs in its final frost and the girl raced up its back with three arrows notched to her bow. Its mouth wide open, teeth ready to take down one of its killers, it roared watching the girl leap into the night sky turn and release. Her aim was true, two in the eyes, one into its forehead and surrounded by sparks, she landed softly into the melt of snow behind her where Aloy stood mouth open stunned at the perfect ending.

it was a good hunt.

Both women smiled at one another in shared victory.

Aloy went to the other woman with her hand held out to share a congratulatory high five.

"Excellent finish Ikrie" The red head said and found herself being pulled into a tight hug.

"That was legendary!" The Banuk woman proclaimed. "Thank you Aloy"

Sheepishly Aloy placed her hands on the girls back and patted her twice before pulling herself back into her own comfort zone.

"You're welcome. We should harvest the parts from this guy" Aloy directed towards the felled beast. "The heart alone could buy you your own hunting ground."

"Right, we'll have to do this now before scrappers pick it clean"

In the afterglow of battle, both women failed to hear the sound of hoots and claps in the distance. When they finally caught on, they saw the torch first signifying it was a person, and upon approach they saw it was Lauvuk, the owner of the Snowchants Hunting Ground.

"Well done hunters!" she exclaimed with utter joy "I havent seen a fight like that ever in all my days! i saw everything from the hill over there."

She pointed to the direction she came which was still some distance from her post.

As it turned out the reason she came was because she could hear the fight from her lodge and was checking to see if Ikrie had died or not. She was surprised to see her being accompanied by the famous outlander Aloy.

Her torch gave sufficient light to pillage vaulable parts from the beast and before long they were back at the hunters lodge.

Lauvuk did most of the talking on their way back, mostly she was doing a play by play of the action she had witnessed.

Aloy felt proud for her friend, who would likely now be viewed as the great hunter she truly was. She also felt this was the perfect parting gift. She didnt know what life was going to bring her next, but she wasn't she would ever be able to return to The Cut again.

Thankfully, there was already roasted goat over the spit. Both women were starving and the exuberant gameskeeper was more than happy to provide their meal tonight.

They ate heartily around the large fire as Lauvak finally stopped talking at them to go retell the story to Patras the trader.

At the side of the fire was a large kettle with hot water and herbs in it. They helped themselves to tea and sat in comfortable ease next to one another.

"How long will it take you to return to your mother?" Ikrie inquired, continuing a conversation already begun.

"If I ride, maybe 3 or 4 nights, depending on where i stop"

"Your admirers will have questions and wish you to regale them with stories of your many adventures" the paler woman spoke and Aloy sighed deeply, regretfully.

"Yeah. It's not that I don't appreciate people not hating me now, its just..."

"It sounds like you are used to being alone, and it sounds especially difficult now that you are likely never going to be alone again."

Aloy smirked at the accurate assessment, but it fell as its truth slapped her in the face.

"Yes." she said plainly suddenly eager to take the focus off of herself.

"What about you Ikrie, will you join a werak? Chief Aratak at Song's Edge is a friend of mine, I could ask him to accept you; although I imagine Lauvuk will let no hunter pass by here without mentioning this last hunt. You'll be famous yourself soon enough."

"I dont think I'm ready to settle into that kind of life" Ikrie admitted, before swallowing her last sip of tea. "I actually might try to start up my own hunting ground though, maybe down in the valley..."

She stopped talking as the lodge keeper approached them again.

"Please hunters, take the main lodge. I'm not expecting anyone else and I would be honoured to see to your comfort and safety tonight."

She directed her hand to the larger structure behind them, the main lodge which would nomally be reserved for groups of elite hunters.

Aloy wanted to reject her offer; sleeping on the ground, or in cold caves or in trees was a way of life for her, but Ikrie spoke first.

"Thank you" she said before speaking to Aloy. "I usually take the smallest tent by the side of the hill. Come on, let's do it, it would be the right way to end this perfect day!"

Aloy looked at the cheerful older woman and nodded her assent as well. Lauvuk clapped her hands and walked away from them, perhaps sensing their reasonable fatigue.

The full moon was up, and the wind was starting to whip snow about them. Aloy was ready to take a break from the snow.

"So" she started saying to Ikrie. "Do you want to go be warm together?"

It was a figure of speech she had observed Banuk use with one another before they went to sleep. Aloy thought it would impress her fellow hunter to use the local slang and that was how she read Ikrie's face, which was an one of shared knowledge.

Ikrie did know this expression. All Banuk have heard this said around campfires. It was a form of something Mailen told her some nights when they were alone.

"Ikrie, come and keep me warm".

Aloy had been in The Cut long enough that she must understand what she was asking her. The red head was strong and beautiful, but until that moment she hadn't considered there was anything between them but friendship.

Aloy was set to leave in the morning. Ikrie could make her last night unforgettable. The cold wind blew, and the appeal of sharing some comfort with another person motivated her response.

She blinked deliberately, exhaled then smiled.

"I would."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before I write, I play music from my Spotify Playlist " Aloy" to figure out what I want to do with this story.
> 
> I have just posted chapter eight but at this point in time, my goal was to just do a PWP.


	2. A Healing Gift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ikrie is starting to look at Aloy differently as they enjoy a hot bath together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I take a lot of liberties with the Banuk culture and there are game spoilers ahead.
> 
> Also: I don't know what Ikrie's hair colour looks like, but I picked a pale shade of blonde to give her a 'ghostier' appearance for our Snow Ghost.
> 
> Rated M.

Disclaimer: I own no part of HZD including it's story and characters.

 

Chapter Two

"Cozy" Aloy said about the circular room which was no larger than the cottage she grew up in with Rost. It was built into the earth, Aloy had to step down as she closed the heavy pelt tarp that made up the door of this lodge.

Along the opposite side of the room were three straw bunk bed covered in furs, but the floor was equally comfortable looking as it was also covered in layers of pelts. It was lit by a lone blue light by the door. In the centre where Aloy felt the hearth should be, there was a circular metal structure which looked like another door. She noticed the room was a comfortable temperature, but could not identify the source of its heat.

Ikrie was standing near a bunk bed facing away from Aloy. She took off her horned headpiece and placed it on the top bunk. When she pulled back her hood, her flaxen blonde hair fell loosely to the nape of her neck. Aloy could vaguely see in the shadow she had a tattoo begin there, possibly running down her spine.

"Do you mind if we have a bath first." Ikrie asked, not looking towards her companion. "It's been a long day, I feel pretty grimy."

"Bath?" Aloy had no clue what Ikrie was talking about. She herself had no desire to leave the warmth of the lodge now that she was ready to settle in for sleep.

"Pull back the door." Ikrie pointed to the metal mystery on the floor before removing her heavy yellow chest guard with chains woven into it. "Be careful to use the wooden handles though or you'll burn your hands." Ikrie began to unbutton her top coat, the second of her four layers of clothing.

Meanwhile, the Nora woman did as instructed, lifted open the hatch revealing a pool of steaming red water. She placed the door on the floor.

"What is this?" she asked, her curiousity bubbling inside about how it worked. "Is this lodge built over a hot spring?" Aloy felt mildly ignorant for having asked that. She had spent some time passing by the hot spring close to the volcano. It had reeked of rotting eggs and was impossible to be close to for very long; the air about it was hot and caused her throat to burn. The lodge did not stink of that place, in fact, there was a sweet yet spicy aroma about them. "Definitely not a hot spring." She thought.

"No. It happens when you drop fire kiln flowers into melted snow, it heats it up. It doesn't work with the river water for some reason, but most werak's have at least one bath-"

"Are you kidding me?" Aloy said utterly annoyed. Ikrie turned to face her. "I've been bathing in the icy river for months and nobody told me you keep hot tubs in your tents?!"

Ikrie couldn't hide the amusement in her eyes, and she pressed her lips tightly to keep from laughing out loud. She pulled her jacket off awkwardly to hide her face so she could smile and release some of the laughter in her chest through her nostrils. Aloy's indignant face was precious.

"Having a cold bath is good for you...It can keep you from getting pregnant"

Aloy raised an eyebrow uncertain of how those two ideas connected. She surmised that perhaps Ikrie somehow knew the events that preceded her mother's pregnancy and deduced that the Banuk were a strange people. Afterall, how does one not know their own mother, but people will tell a child about her own conception.

Folding her coat on the bunk, she walked casually over to Aloy, and then behind her. She found the clasp that held the shoulder section of Aloy's shield weave outfit and pressed on it. The hard outer layer clanked when it landed on the ground.

"Come on, get undressed." She inhaled Aloy sharply for emphasis. "You smell like you spent the evening fighting a beast of mythic proportions."

Aloy grimaced and lifted her shirt to smell beneath it and was taken aback by it herself.

"Yep, I can't argue with you there."

The Outlander's gear took no time to remove and fold atop another bunk along with her Focus. It was then that Ikrie finally got down to her last layer of clothing, a soft layer of knit fabric that hugged her body tightly.

Aloy stood shamelessly naked at the edge of the tub that could have easily fit six large Banuk men and dipped her toe down into the still red water. From the steam, she was expecting to burn, instead she was disappointed.

"Can this get hotter?" She inquired. She sat down and let her legs float at the top of the water.

"Let me test it."

The blonde woman pulled up her sleeve and dropped her hand into the pool, only to immediately pull it out in shock. "You can't be serious, this is already hot!"

Aloy shrugged before letting herself completely be engulfed by the water which went to just below her collarbone as she sat down. She leaned back against the tub and allowed her body to appreciate it. Maybe it wasn't very hot, but at least it wasn't cold. She pondered if her skin was going to turn red as the water, and just to test she let her hand bob to the surface. She wasn't red yet. Then again, only a moment or two had passed since she began this soak.

Her mind drifted back to the Sacred land, her home with Rost. She would need to stop there to pick up a memento or two before returning to the place would build her new home.

Avad promised her she could have anything, and she would request the land of her mother. Unfortunately for him, if he had romantic designs set on the two of them, this would prevent that from ever happening. It wasn't that Aloy found him unattractive; it was just the idea of being bound to Meridian. With all of its political boar shit, she wanted no part of it.

Meanwhile, Ikrie found a bowl of Fire kiln petals on a small table between the bunks. After she removed the wool bodysuit she scooped up a handful and approached the pool.

Aloy's eyes were closed, she looked like she could be falling asleep. Feeling shy about her own nudity, Ikrie used the opportunity to gently and slowly inch her way into the bath. The further in she got, she realized it wasnt as scalding as her initial assessment, but it might be too much for her companion after the extra flowers had been added.

She took an extra moment to take in the sight of her soon to be lover whose body was almost entirely hidden in crimson. The tips of her wild hair were becoming wet, falling below her wide, strong shoulders, the muscles from which were not receiving the relaxing qualities endowed by the flower. After bearing the weight of the world, they must be sore and tense, she would soon take care of them. First though, the woman had requested a hotter bath.

"Pssst, hey Aloy"

The Nora opened her eyes to see Ikrie kneeling infront of her on the opposite side of the tub. Her hands were cupped above the water, the reactive red flowers within them.

"Mmhmm?" The redhead groaned, just wanting to close her eyes again.

"Watch this"

Ikrie took in a deep breath and slowly released it over the flowers which set into the air, falling into the water around Aloy.

The reaction began the instant the petals making the sleepy woman's bright hazel eyes widen with curiosity. The first thing that happened was that they dissolved, turning the water a slightly darker shade of red around where they landed. The next thing was an effervescent trail that bubbled towards the floor of the tub. It was a trail of intense heat that Aloy didn't think to try to evade until the first burst hit her leg like a hot poker straight from the fire.

"What! Ow!" Aloy complained, her face scrunched with frustration as she finally got wise and rushed out of her seat to be closer to Ikrie. There was an noticeable temperature drop on the other side of the tub.

"What was that all about?!" The redhead said utterly annoyed. Ikrie made her eyes large and innocent as she shrugged her shoulders.

"You wanted a hotter bath, now it is".

The heat was spreading and despite her growing discomfort, Ikrie did not flee the tub. It would be great for her own aching muscles, which she was then becoming aware of. Being tough was an essential value amongst Banuk, but pretending you never felt pain was seen as weakness. Pain was a lesson that life gave to make you stronger, and the healing process was part of that journey.

Another Banuk value was the experiences one must go through to be seen as an acceptable lover or mate to another. Ikrie considered their battle with the Fire Claw to be a story worthy of making their union acceptable; however, it would be completely irrelevant if she showed her weakness now towards something as minor as a hot bath.

Aloy closed her eyes as she was enveloped by the new warmth. She immediately forgot how cheeky her companion had been and smiled peacefully.

"Hey, it's good, thanks."

The outlander didn't return to her previous spot. Instead, she leaned back in her seat next to Ikrie and let her mind wander again. The last great hot bath she had was in Free Heap. One of Petra's creations was a tub with buttons that connected to jets that targeted various muscles on the body. The Oseram woman had offered it to Aloy as a reward for the behemoth cables she had secured for her. One of those buttons, she had discovered, caused the jets to target her lower regions, and it had taken her by surprise.

Petra had been preparing them something for dinner in the main living area of her home when she heard her guest yelp behind the bathroom door. Aloy was thankful it was locked as she heard Petra turn the door knob trying to enter. If she had been able to walk in, she would have found the red head stunned into stillness by the shock of sensation still targeting her womanly space.

"Hey Machine Hunter, everything okay?"

"Uh, um yeah. I'm not used to this machine yet."

"I see." Said the voice behind the door. She took a moment before continuing. "If you let me in I can show you some things."

Aloy's eyes were open wide taking in the new experience with both curiosity and enjoyment. Her hands gripped the edges of the tub and her lips tried to form words, but self consciously, she surpressed her voice or else Petra would know what she was doing.

There were machines operating outside, and whatever operated this tub was fairly noisey. She hoped at least her increasingly fast breathing couldn't be heard. Aloy clenched her eyes shut as the tension in her sex pushed her towards something she had yet to know before.

The door knocked softly. Petra's voice came through softly, with a hint of knowing and want.

"Aloy. I can...help you."

Aloy couldn't process what the other woman was talking about, but she did realize that Petra knew exactly what was happening on the other side of the door. She didn't know what to do with that information other than to hit the red button marked "off", shutting down the machine.

Wherever the tension was leading, she never got to know. Aloy was still wound tightly and she desperately felt like she needed to escape and maybe find something to fight. She dried herself quickly before getting dressed.

In the meantime, she could hear her host swearing in the distance. It sounded like something had gone wrong with whatever she was cooking. This became apparent as she opened the door and was greeted to smoke and the smell of burnt rabbit meat. If she wasn't needing to leave, Aloy would have been fine to eat this for dinner. Growing up with Rost, she had become used to eating varying degrees of cooked food, from bloody to black. She tried to escape without much fuss, and she called out to the woman in the kitchen space,

"Hey Petra, thanks for the wash, I need to go now."

"Hold up Flame-hair!" Petra shouted back, rushing away from the smoky oven. She picked up something off the table and walked towards her guest who was standing by the door. "Are you sure you can't stay longer? I promise I'm a better cook than how that turned out." She smirked and directed her thumb behind her to the disaster in her kitchen.

Aloy nervously looked into Petra's dark and determined ones and shook her head slightly.

"I'm sorry. Maybe next time."

She placed her hand on the door to push it open, but was stopped by the Oseram woman gripping her other hand.

"Petra?" Aloy asked, unsure what the other woman was doing. The surprising touch caught her off guard and she wished it hadn't felt so good.

"Have some candy. We Oseram are famous for two things: Being brilliant engineers and for our mastery with sugar. We haven't been trading partners with the Nora for very long so I can't imagine these made it your way."

In Petra's free hand were several pink disk shaped items. She gripped one between her forefingers and presented it before Aloy's lips. Humouring the other woman, Aloy obliged and let the Oseram slide a candy onto her tongue. She was impressed by the explosion of flavour. It was sweet, but not too sweet. It was also a little chewy and herbal in flavour. She could have easily said this was the most delicious thing she had ever eaten if her mouth wasn't too watery to speak.

"Mmmm, mmhmm" she mumbled with a smile as she used her tongue to scrape out the little bit stuck in her teeth.

Petra grinned, pleased at this result while still holding Aloy. Her other hand, with the remaining candies were curled into her fist as she used her free pinky to caress the side of the Outlander's lips. Aloy assumed some drool had come out; she let go of the door knob to wipe away her mouth with her sleeve.

"Aloy, you could stay a while,"The engineer offered. Her voice was deep and breathy as she held the other woman's gaze.

As nice as it sounded, to be able to take a break, the Nora woman felt restless. She had to go, candy or no candy. Besides, Petra's body was getting too close to her own. Like Avad, it wasn't that she found the Oseram woman to be unattractive, but she had too many things to worry about than the side effects of beginning a sexual relationship. At that time, she was still on her mission to discover what Zero Dawn was, and to find out what happened to Elisabet.

She stepped back and placed her hand on the darker woman's shoulder.

"Petra, thank you. Maybe another time."

The older woman nodded with resignation.

"I know you have to go. If your adventures bring you back near the Free Heap again, come by for a visit."

Aloy smacked her lips in memory of Petra's candy, then smiled at the thought of the bathtub with the conveniently placed jets. Because of them she walked with a drunken gait as she left the community, and she was certain she had overheard laughter in the background and a comment on Petra's sexual prowess. She opened her eyes to see what Ikrie was up to and was amused to discover the girl was slouched down in the water. Even her lips were submerged.

"What are you doing?" Aloy asked. the other woman sat up straight, then began flexing her neck back and in circles.

"It's good for the aches." She replied simply before beginning to rotate her shoulders. "How are you doing? Are you finding the bath to be helpful?"

Aloy emulated what the pale woman was doing and rotated her under-stretched shoulders. She grimaced at the tightness.

"Maybe I should have done what you were doing?" She admitted. Being sore was a way of life for the Nora woman, but that didn't mean she enjoyed it. She thought to spend her final moments in the tub sunk below, or perhaps attempting to float at the top of the water; but the look of concern in Ikrie's eyes made her want to pretend that nothing was wrong.

"Hey, I can help. Lean forward against the edge of the tub." Aloy, while apprehensive did as instructed. She rested her elbows down on the rim of the tub, and looked forward where the entrance to their lodging was. Ikrie moved in behind her and placed her hands flatly on Aloy's back. Unaccustomed to this much touching, the fiercely independent Outlander spoke up and again asked.

"What are you do-ing?" The final note of her question was of a higher pitch as Ikrie's fingers pressed down into her tight muscles.

"I know you like your space Aloy, but trust me, I have a lot of experience with this."

The red head groaned loudly then. It really hurt, but in the good way.  Aloy could tell that Ikrie wasn't kidding about her talent for soothing aches.

"Mailen?" she inquired.

Ikrie didn't speak for several moments. While she had grieved the loss of her former partner, it still struck her heart to think of their life together up until recently. They had grown up close as sisters: One orphan, and one girl whose parents were never around such to be practically an orphan as well. When they were left behind by their werak as young adults, they could only rely on one another. Mailen couldn't stand their isolation, she needed to be part of a group. They approached different weraks and Mailen would participate in various trials trying to find them a new home. She would never talk about what she had to endure, but when she had the chance to try to run with the White Teeth, she jumped on the opportunity. She said their terms were more reasonable than any other group before: It was win or die.

She wasn't sure how much of her story she wanted to share, so she silently kept ministering to her companion. She used her fingertips, palms and knuckles to wear down the tightest places and inwardly assessed that Aloy did not take good enough care of herself. She kept her hands hot and wet with the fire kiln infused water. Not only would it serve to unwind the back muscles, but it would protect her own hands from cramping up.

Finally, just to break the silence, she began to speak,

"Mailen was a terrible sleeper. From the time it was she and I left to fend for ourselves, she was plagued by nightmares. As much as we needed one another, she could never tell me what was haunting her. Eventually, I discovered that my hands could silence some of those ghosts. It was a simple solution really, and when she slept better, it meant I slept better too.

Aloy's head rested on her forearms with her eyes once again closed, but her thoughts did not wander. Instead she thought of Ikrie, her strength and compassion. She would speak such high praises of her on her journey home that every Werak would fight to be able to claim her as their own. Then again, the two women had much in common, including growing up in traditional cultures but hating to live by their rules. Maybe life with the Banuk was not her best option.

"Maybe you are a natural healer?" The Nora suggested with a dream laden voice. "I know your love is the hunt though, maybe you should adventure down south, give those hunting grounds a chance to add to your legend."

Ikrie pushed out a laugh through her nose as if to brush off the comment.

Aloy turned around then. The blonde woman's hands were still upon her, but now on her front shoulders.

"Ikrie, I'm serious." The Nora insisted. "There's more adventures to be had in the big wide world. I would love to someday pass by a hunting ground I've visited and learned you had been there and had shattered my own record."

Ikrie smiled then shyly looked away. It meant a lot to her that this great huntress had so much faith in her; but to give up the winter, the daily test of endurance and strength, she wasn't sure it was what she wanted.

Boldly, Aloy lifted up her chin and two sets of hazel eyes met.

"You can do whatever you want to, but maybe when I leave tomorrow you could come along...at least to the border of The Cut. We could walk together for a while?"

Ikrie's eyes couldn't help but blink rapidly, stunned by the offer of company. She had already let herself get used to the idea of spending the remains of her days hunting solo. It wasn't a happy plan, but at least it was her own and not the will of some chieftain.

Maybe for a few days, she could create some happy memories to hold onto before their inevitable parting.

Her hands, still on Aloy, closed the gap between their bodies and with her knees outside of the redheads hips, Ikrie brought them together in a tender embrace. It took Aloy by surprise, although not really because she knew the Banuk woman was a hugger. Their breasts and stomachs were touching one another; this was a new stimulus. It wasn't unpleasant, although it made her own breath hitch with this much skin on skin contact. She tried to imagine that naked hugs were a normal thing in this northern culture, but the idea of this act as being merely innocent became harder to fight for as she felt warm breath close to her ear. An involuntary shudder went down her spine as Ikrie whispered:

"Thank you."

Aloy couldn't stop the moan from leaving her throat, and she closed her eyes in a slow blink to try to regain some composure. The logical thing to do would be to push the other woman away and take back her space, but she found that her mind was no longer in charge. Ikrie was looking deeply into her eyes, her pupils were dark. One of her hands was now in her hair, the other with finger tips along her jaw. Aloy's heart was thumping in her chest, and all she wanted was to close in the distance in between them.

Their faces moved towards one another, and their lips met softly with their first kiss which became many kisses. Deeper kisses. Aloy found it strange but delightful as Ikrie's tongue entered her own mouth; hands caressed her under the water, fingertips stroked the sides of her breasts. With so much sensation happening, she wanted to make the other woman feel as wonderful as she did, but she wasn't sure what she should be doing.

Suddenly, Ikrie pulled back and a brief wave of disappointment passed through the Nora. She wanted very much to reconnect with her companion, and she placed her hands on the other woman's buttocks to pull her close. Then with a sure smile, Ikrie spoke.

"Aloy, I want to lie with you."

The blonde woman stood, her gaze never leaving Aloy's. She offered a hand to help her rise, it was taken.

They stood together in the pool, Aloy lifted Ikrie's knuckles and kissed them then smirked with mischief.

"I hope you want more than to just lie down with me."

 


	3. Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ikrie and Aloy get....close

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning! M Rated!

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own any part of HZD.

 

Aloy awoke in the same position she had fallen asleep in: The fur laden floor had served as their bed; she lay on her side with her left arm as her pillow and her right arm was still wrapped around Ikrie, who had fallen asleep with her head against her chest. The voice of the groundskeeper speaking to arriving hunters was the sign that it was now morning.

It had been an exciting yet strange night. Ikrie had many skills when it came to discovering her body, much to Aloy's benefit. The tension she had discovered in Petra's tub had met its natural conclusion several times, thanks to her lover's rhythmic hips, nimble fingers, and untiring tongue. The assault on her senses made it impossible to analyse the situation too hard as it was happening, but her feelings, she remembered the intense urge to reciprocate.

The Nora thoughts went to Ikrie's bravado when it came to giving, but she had become hesitant when it came to allowing Aloy to touch her back. In hindsight, the blonde almost seemed frightened when Aloy rolled her on her back and began kissing down her body. At the time, she hadn't put too much thought into why Ikrie covered her eyes with her hands when the redhead's tongue began caressing her most intimate place. The Banuk was struggling between holding her breath and gasping, but Aloy wasn't sure then how she should be interpreting it; maybe that was just how Ikrie sounded when she was enjoying something?

It hadn't lasted long. Ikrie pushed back Aloy's head and pulled her up to lay next to her under the furs.

Face to face, they stared into one another's eyes, Aloy could see Ikrie's brimming with tears. Alarmed by this sight, and also disarmed by her failure to please her partner she caressed her freckled cheeks, thumbing away the wetness.

"I'm sorry, what did I do wrong?" The red head implored, desperate to make things right.

With fast, uneven breath, Ikrie shook her head as she closed her eyes. She was trying to not cry as she spoke.

"Please, I just want you to hold me." She then tucked her head against the other woman's chest. Stunned, Aloy pulled her close and began to stroke her back unsure of what she should be doing otherwise.

Ikrie fell asleep almost immediately leaving Aloy to think about the sequence of events that had just occurred- What she could have done to illicit this response? She was strong so maybe she had held her down too hard, maybe she accidently bit something she shouldn't have, maybe the girl was just too tired after a long day of fighting? She dwelled on it a short time before sleep claimed her too, but as she opened her eyes, all she wanted was answers.

Ikrie had woken up several moments before Aloy. She wasn't sure what she would say when they began getting ready for the day. She wasn't sure how to explain what was happening inside of her when they had gone from kissing side by side, to the redhead pushing her over gently and climbing on top. At first, she had tried to go along with it, she loved the taste of the woman's mouth and feel of her skin and strong body.

Aloy's fingers began caressing her sex and she wasn't ready for the release of the moan that came from her own throat; she wasn't even close to handling the look of desire from the Nora's face after she brought her fingers to her mouth and tasted Ikrie on them. An alarm rang in her head then. She recognized how good it felt to have her body kissed, but where that mouth was going, her brain screamed out "No!". It was wrong, she should not be touched like this.

She tried to get out of her own head and just feel it, she wanted to please Aloy badly.

She knew the redhead was awake when she felt fingertips begin to draw on her back. She wanted to pretend she was still asleep, to keep inhaling her scent, to feel Aloy's warmth and protection. She also knew the inevitable was going to happen soon, that the woman was going to change her mind about travelling together and leave her behind. She was okay with this, Ikrie's destiny was to be alone after all. Their paths may diverge, but she would always keep an ear out for Aloy's songs of her further adventures in the voices of other Banuk.

With joyful resignation, she let the other woman know she was awake by rubbing her thumb against the Outlanders ribs.

Aloy wanted to say something, but she couldn't find the words to begin. She had been sincere when she had asked Ikrie to travel with her, but now she wonder that maybe the other woman wouldn't want to go. They could talk about that, she considered if they couldn't deal with the other events from the night before. It had occurred to her in all of her mulling that the source of Ikrie's hesitation had nothing to do with her. Maybe the Banuk woman was bearing the weight of something else and perhaps couldn't talk about it.

She sat up then and stretched her arms and back; her muscles were not as tight as usual thanks to the hot bath earlier. She examined her skin, checking to see if it had changed hues after sitting in red water and was surprised to find that she was not. Aloy decided she would investigate fire kiln root someday for other properties it held, but her curious thoughts returned to the present moment as Ikrie too sat up and also stretched. The arching of her back pushed her breasts forward and Aloy fought back the urge to playfully reach out and touch them. She wasn't certain she would be welcome.

The silence was awkward as they sat and considered one another. Ikrie had the same smile on her face when she told Aloy she was happy for Mailen who was moving on without her; this informed the redhead that perhaps she was wearing a mask. Was it something she wore just when she was sad, or did she also wear it when she was angry?

"Ikrie..." she spoke softly, hoping that as she did the right thing to say would naturally just fall out. Instead, she smirked shyly and in response, the blonde's beatific smile fell into a more thoughtful pose. There was a piece of loose hair fallen down Aloy's face. She reached out and used her fingertips to place it behind the Nora's ear then let them become entwined within her locks.

"Aloy, you're beautiful. Can I kiss you again?"

The red head released the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Any questions in her hazel eyes faded and she smiled widely. She nodded.

"Come here,"

Aloy pulled the other woman to her so she sat astride her own legs. Their mouths came together gently at first, but the fever that had taken them the night before promptly returned. Their kisses became hungry.

Ikrie tried to use her weight to push Aloy back, but the move was resisted as the other woman used an arm to keep herself upright. Ikrie turned her lips to Aloy's face, up to her ear and neck and using her breath to send shocks down familiar nerves, the ones that had driven the Nora crazy only a few hours earlier.

A sharp pitch broke from the Nora's throat; shocks surged down her spine causing her to arch into Ikrie's body; she gripped the back of the blonde's hair to keep herself from falling backwards.

"Ikrie, aah!" Aloy gasped. She hadn't been ready to feel as turned on as she was so quickly. It wasn't that she didn't want Ikrie to throw her back and do whatever she wanted to her body; She truly believed Ikrie could probably make her climax just by the attention she was giving to her neck. Lips found her pulse point and located sensitive nerves, "Oh, Gaia, yes!"

Ikrie needed to have control Aloy realized; she hadn't been without pleasure the evening past and she wasn't quiet about it. She shared many encouraging words of both sweet and obscene nature at key moments. There had been a time when she remembered Ikrie grinding up against her leg, her breath was hot and loud against Aloys ear which was when she discovered this area in particular could drive the redhead to a state of madness with desire.

Before she completely lost any ability to stop what was happening, Aloy used her fingers to pull back on those blonde locks, pulling her off her neck and mashed their lips back together; Aloy sucked in air through her nostrils trying to stay in her own head and slow down her pounding heart. Instead of calm, she began to feel light headed and the releasing sounds from her throat came out as high and needy.

The Banuk woman gripped Aloy's face and used her kneeling position to raise her own body. Their lips never parted as their heights became different; the blonde attempted to use this to her advantage and used her pelvis to push against the base of the other woman's sternum.

Aloy could feel the wetness and heat of Ikrie's sex against her skin, taking a chance, she used one hand to grip behind the blonde's buttocks, and used her other hand to slide in between them to cup the mound before her and added pressure.

"Oh-oh! Ikrie moaned. She tried to pull backwards but because of the way she was being held it pulled the other woman back with her. She pushed forwards back again and rubbed against Aloys open palm. This time her voice choked like she was supressing sounds in response to the intimate touch. Aloy tried to get a sense of where Ikrie was, at the risk of seeing anger or pain, she held her eyes to the other set of hazel ones which were directed behind her; perhaps she was emotionally removing herself from the present. Aloy wanted to bring her back to wherever that haunted mind may be taking her.

"Ikrie, look at me." She commanded gently. She curled her fingers so she could begin lightly stroking the soft pubic mound she held. The Banuk woman took a few long blinks before meeting Aloy's admiring gaze. "I'm not hurting you...right?"

Ikrie breathed in deeply, but she allowed herself to be captured in that stare. This outlander, Aloy, was so much more than just any other person; she was strong, but she was like a force of nature. Still, she was capable of showing such kindess, especially to wounded beasts such as herself. In line with these thoughts, Ikrie realized how weak she must be appearing. The things that hurt her had nothing to do with her generous companion. She shook her head trying to force out the cruel voices that held her back. She would find her courage in Aloy.

"No" she said at first with uncertainty. Aloy's fingers began to spread her lower lips and caress their soft edges. With her hands wrapped around the back of the Outlander's neck as a support for her weight, she pressed into the touches and allowed herself to enjoy the sensations. She gasped softly but her eyes never left the patient Nora's.

"No" she said again, this time with more conviction.

Aloy smiled blissfully and tenderly kissed Ikrie once again. Her thumb found the small swollen nub and began to make large swirls on the outside of it and was rewarded with a deep sigh in her mouth.

"Oh, Aloy" Ikrie breathed, gazing deeply again into the Nora's. It was there, she could see it, the source of her fearlessness. It was in the dark orbs that was focusing on her now, it was in the heat of her skin, the fire of her kiss. Ikrie could not and would not know fear, she would be strong with her.

"Aloy" she spoke again as a question, her fingers caressed the frame of the redheads face.

"What do you need?" was the husky voiced reply. Aloy was utterly enchanted by the change in Ikrie's response to her; the flush in her pale, freckled skin, the rocking of her hips, the silken warmth that welcomed her fingers. Anything wished of her, would be granted if it was within her ability.

"I don't know" the Banuk replied honestly, she took in another gulp of air and continued "just be close to me"

Aloy nodded and moved forward to capture those bright lips again found herself being pulled entirely down and atop Ikrie. She used her knees to keep the entirety of her weight from crushing down the Banuk whose hands were cupping the sides of her breasts and caressing her ribs. The flame haired womans hand used her new freedom of movement to allow her dominant fingers to lead the pattern on and around Ikrie's swollen clit.

"Oh Aloy" she moaned loudly finding it hard to keep her eyes from falling into her head as her back arched forward off the ground. "Oh!"

The Nora quickened her pace to keep with Ikrie's breathing which was faster and didn't take those nails digging into her back as a sign that she should be doing anything but this despite the pain sending a surge of pleasure down to her own sex.

"Ikrie, yes" she hissed "That's it let it happen!"

Ikrie's eyes were wide and focussed completely on her face as their pace became steady. Her mouth was open and became wider and louder as tension mets its apex-

"Oh-Oh...Ahhh" her back arched violently and her hips shook and when it seemed like all the tension had passed, Ikrie found herself blanketed by the body of her saviour who was covering her face with sweet kisses.

She wrapped her legs around Aloy and pressed her head down to listen to her heart which was beginning to calm. Her fingers entwined in those thick red locks which were so messily braided, but they were perfect. She longed then again to gaze upon that face which was more freckled than her own. She had a faint scar above her right eyebrow and many others decorating her body. Scars were tools to begin or end stories. They were symbols of wisdom in the Banuk culture because they taught about lessons learned and healing after a terrible event. Ikrie too had scars, but not all of them were visible. As sadness threatened again to overtake her thoughts, they were interrupted by Aloy turning her face up to look at her, she seemed contemplative.

"So, do you still want to travel with me?" She asked with a hopeful smirk.

Ikrie smile broadly. It was the question she had hoped would be asked. Without hesitation, she nodded, but she wasn't ready to leave yet. Where they would rest next was unknown and she wanted to care for her lover at least once more today.

She used her hips and legs to rolled them over so that Aloy again was on her back against the furs.

"Ikrie?" Aloy asked, feigning ignorance as to what the other woman was upto. There really was no rush to get out of The Cut, she surmised. If they left a little later they could still walk in some daylight.

Ikrie began a trail of kisses down her chest, stopping at her breasts briefly to swirl each nipple with her tongue; it was a sample of what was soon to come and all thoughts of travel abandoned her.

 

___________________________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this was the originally planned ending, but I set down some plot points I felt like exploring in future chapters. 
> 
> I also need Aloy to get back to Meridian. I'd like to have her interact with friends who are there, Avad, Vanasha, Talanah, Erend, and even Petra is there engineering the recreation of that felled bridge.


	4. The Glorious Details

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After being immortalized in song, Ikrie and Aloy meet a Banuk hero and learn of a menace has returned to The Cut.

The sky was overcast, and it was predictably cold when the two women finally emerged from their lodging. Hunger had been their mutual motivating factor for quickly getting dressed. They agreed they would bring Lauvuk, the keeper of Snowchants a fresh goat in gratitude for the excellent hospitality so they would need to hunt immediately.

The background noise was the raucous cheers of men having their mettle tested in the hunting grounds. Their travel gear was strewn around the outside of the main lodge indicating they intended to spend the night there. Lauvuk, who saw her celebrity guests emerge, stood to greet them.

"Good morning hunters, I hope the lodge was suitably comfortable"

"It was, thank you" Aloy replied on autopilot. In her mind she was doing an inventory of her arrows, deciding if she needed to purchase more before they began their day.

"You are more than welcome to stay another night" The groundskeeper invited hopefully. She saw Aloy's eyes deep in thought, so she re-addressed her semi-resident fellow Banuk. "Ikrie, would you mind if one of the other travellers used your tent for the night. The main lodge will be kept for you and Aloy."

Ikrie was taken aback by the offer. The Snowchants groundskeeper had been throwing poison daggers from her eyes towards her for the past week. Ikrie understood it was because she was killing Lauvuk's stock of machines faster than could be replenished; she was asked daily, "are you leaving yet?" so being invited to stay was the last thing she expected. She shook her head.

"No Lauvuk. You're finally rid of me today. I'll be escorting Aloy to the edge of The Cut."

The groundskeeper nodded in acceptance. "Indeed. It sounded like you two made quite the connection."

Aloy's jaw dropped overhearing that comment. Her face felt hot with the blush that crept up her neck and she wasn't sure why she should feel embarrassed. Maybe if she had been thinking about who could be within earshot, she wouldn't have been so loud. Ikrie and Lauvuk continued talking, neither of them seemed affected by speaking of the evening.

"I'm sure it will pad the end of the story well." Ikrie commented non-chalantly.

"It certainly has!" Lauvuk admitted, implying she had already gotten to this part of the story with her travellers. Her hands rose with excitement, as she prepared to weave her tale.

"The song of the hunt of the fireclaw ends thusly: "Boldly, seeing the Snow Ghost was her equal, Aloy the Champion beckoned her into the sanctuary for the hunt raged on. The heat of the flame-haired warrior's bloodlust burned and was matched by the unerring arrows of Ikrie. The moon rose and blessed them many times as the silence of the night was broken by the fury of their passion--"

"For the love of Gaia" Aloy broke in a hand to her forehead in disbelief, but she was shushed by the other woman.

"This is a good story, let her finish"

"and as sleep stole them to dream, the sun rose to the east giving light to their legend. Their song would be sealed in ink, for few have known terrors such as the great fireclaw and it must never be forgotten. Ikrie the orphan, the wanderer, the Snow Ghost, and slayer of the great demon, your fate entangled with Aloy the huntress, beloved of the Nora, the Carja and now the Banuk. Wherever you two may walk in life, your paths will always be bound together even when you are parted by time, distance and life itself."

Aloy had many questions about Lauvuk's account of things, but before she could ask, the storyteller interrupted herself to address Ikrie.

"How shall it be known?" It was an insider question, because Ikrie knew the answer right away. From her quiver she pulled out an arrow and crouched down to the ground and began drawing something. Outlined in snow, was an arch with a ball on each side of it. She drew from right to left, she spoke as she drew.

"Aloy, this is the sun rising in the east, and travelling over the sky showing the length of the battle. It ends after the sun has fallen, so the western side must end below the horizon line." She then began drawing three lines below the arch connecting at one point. "This is the killing blow, three arrows from one nock" Then she drew two lines just above the western sunfall. "Survivors, two. Aloy, would you mind if we stayed for a short while longer, I would like to request Lauvuk to mark me with this?"

The Banuk woman looked to Lauvuk who nodded in agreement to her part, and then to Aloy who could see the determination in her eyes. This clearly meant a lot to Ikrie, Aloy deduced, and her interest was piqued as to what the process was. The evening before, she hadn't taken much time to get a good look at the tattoos on Ikrie's skin. She remembered seeing around four running down her neck and spine, and one on the back of her left hand at the end of her thumb; they were all cultural symbols she was meaning to ask about eventually.

"Meridian can wait a little longer" Aloy said in agreement but her stomach growled loudly then in objection.

"We should hunt first" Ikrie suggested as she recognized that she too needed to eat.

The game keeper agreed because it would give her time to make her instruments ready for the marking. The ground shook beneath them then, indicating that someone had shot a flame arrow into the canister of a grazer in the hunting ground. The sounds of cheers afterwards confirmed this was probably the case.

This would also mean if there was wildlife nearby it would have scampered off in fear. They decided to start off in the direction of the fallen fireclaw.

The sky was still overcast, but broken clouds in the distance gave hope that the sun might poke its head out. Either way, Aloy estimated that if they left the grounds within three hours, they could still make some good distance before night fell. Not that the darkness was ever a barrier to travel for her, but she kind of hoped they could continue what they started last night except out of earshot of other people. A rush of pleasure shot through her body at the prospect of being alone with Ikrie and she smiled to herself.

She suddenly realized that the normally chatty woman had been silent for their journey thus far. Ikrie's face was stoic, but not concentrating. Her mind wasn't on the hunt, it looked like it was far away. As they continued walking, Aloy grasped Ikrie's hand with her own. The Banuk woman looked to Aloy then and the stern expression tranformed to a peaceful one.

"Are you alright?" Aloy asked, they coninued walking hand in hand.

"Yes. I'm really good. How about you? It looked to me like you were uncomfortable with your part in the story. I know the Carja don't appreciate having their sex lives told in story; I'm not sure how the Nora are about it."

"It's...different." Aloy admitted. "I didn't hate it but Lauvuk took certain liberties with it"

Ikrie reflected on the story for a moment before coming back.

"Such as?"

"Well, I come across as some sex-starved beast who pulled you into the tent to have my way with you."

Ikrie laughed at the comment.

"I guess it was slightly embellished but it makes the story flow better. When Banuk tell stories, we include the sex, usually in glorious detail because life is short and cold and we treasure that which brings warmth."

They were nearing the place where they would find the broken body of the fireclaw. Ikrie kissed Aloy's fingers before she continued.

"The rightful end to that tale is the killing blow from my arrows but I didn't know you thought of me as more than just a friend...

"Wait a moment" Aloy squinted as she began to challenge Ikrie's interpretation of events, but Ikrie's eyes were focused ahead. She let go of Aloy's hand. There was someone standing by the dead fireclaw surrounded by the still sparking corpses of freshly killed scrappers. It was an older man they could tell as he turned to face them. He pulled his spear out of the body of one of the felled creatures and began to walk towards them. He walked with a limp and used the spear as a walking stick. Aloy was amazed he was still brazen enough to take on a pack of machines alone. He raised a friendly hand towards them, both women waved back.

"Hello hunters!" He called out as their distance closed. "I'm looking for an outlander named Aloy." One of his eyes was scarred shut, but his still working one widened as he noticed the hair colour of one of the women. "And you must be her!"

"Yes." The redhead admitted, "And this is Ikrie." The older man nodded to acknowledge his fellow Banuk. "Why are you looking for me?"

"My name is Umnak" Aloy heard Ikrie intake a sharp breath next to her, she was uncertain why at first as the old man continued. "A great danger has returned to these parts and I am seeking the best hunters to finish what I could not. You are famous now throughout the cut and I am seeking your help. Also, if you know who destroyed that machine behind us if it was not you, I would seek them out as well..."

"That would be her." The Nora directed her thumb at the blonde whose mouth had turned slack-jawed and eyes were wide in admiration at the man before them. "I was there, but it was Ikrie's kill"

The man nodded again towards Ikrie with more respect in his one good eye.

"Then it is a most fortunate day because you girl, you know of whom I speak."

Ikrie bowed lightly, understanding she was given turn to speak.

"Aloy" she began. "Umnak is a legendary hunter amongst our people. He has been in pursuit of a great terror called ' The Claws Beneath' for decades. Every six years, it emerges someplace new and countless hunters and even entire weraks have been destroyed by it. Umnak has fought it many times..." she addressed the old man. "My sister, Mailen and I used to tell each other your stories, we dreamed that one day we would hunt by your side."

Aloy was surprised then as Ikrie grasped her hand. The look in her face was one of pride. Fortitude.

"Umnak has asked and I will hunt" she spoke to Aloy. "I cannot choose for you, but know that if you accept there is a good chance you will never go home."

Aloy knew that would be Ikrie's answer after listening to how much reverence she had for the man. She knew because thats how she would react when given a quest where the odds were against her. From being an outcast child whose only way to knowledge was by winning the Proving, to discovering what happened to the Old Ones and learning who her mother was; Nothing ever came to Aloy easily except a challenge and this wouldn't be any different.

She squeezed the hand in her own and gave her a reassuring smile.

"You've got me."


	5. Worthy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Love in a cave?

Warning:  Rated M.  Also, I didn't edit this a whole lot in a rush to get this out after taking time off writing to go on vacation.  I maybe pull this in a few days with a more polished copy.

 

Chapter Five

Umnak would not be a part of this hunt, Ikrie was disappointed to learn. Not that she blamed him, he was the oldest hunter she had ever met afterall. What she found sad, was the fact that the ending of the story that had made him a legend, would include him.

The man could see it in her face when he told them, but he was not bothered by it. He took them time to explain:

"My girl, I have spent my entire life trying to destroy this killer. I have led the best hunters to their deaths. To him, I have also lost my love...my son in pursuit of some supposed glory, but still he lives on. Until it is put down, countless more will meet a brutal and meaningless end."

He stopped talking then. His eyes wandered away; Aloy imagined he was reflecting upon his many losses so she didn't speak. She had many question she would need addressed shortly, primarily, about what kind of machine The Claws Beneath was. Ikrie was still holding her hand, she was so very warm, and alive. What kind of peril were they about to face? Was she okay knowing that Ikrie was going to go into this hunt believing their odds of death were greater than their odds of survival? Her questions paused as Umnak continued.

"I would rather live my final years with the peace of knowing that no other Banuk had to die because I failed...many times. The stories of Aloy and her accomplishments have led me to believe that she is the one who can finally put down this menace."

"She will." Ikrie spoke confidently. "And I'll be with her. At least one of us will leave being able to sing the end of this song, but first we need to prepare."

It was settled that they would meet at Snowchants after they settled their debt with Lauvuk. After the fight the previous day, they would need to restock their supplies with Patras the trader, but also strategize how they would take on the vicious creature. What went unsaid, was Ikrie's desire to get her tattoo. Aloy wasn't under the impression that she no longer wanted one, but she was too distracted by her empty stomach to express concern about it.

There was a river at the bottom and a treeline in the close distance. Goats would surely be plentiful there they deduced.

The snow became deeper the further they descended along the sloped pathway. It was frustrating for Aloy, the entire time she had been in The Cut, the obstacle she most resented was the snow. It made travel slower, even when riding on the back of a strider. Hunting was definately more difficult searching for white animals in white terrain. She had to admit to herself that the challenge probably made her a better hunter, but now, more than ever, she was eager to get back to the green world. If she returned to the Sacred Land, it would be in full summer. She wouldn't have to wear so many layers of clothing, there would be sweet berries growing, it made such a wonderful paste to put on fish.

Then again, going back to the sacred land meant facing the admiring gazes of those who used to spit at her. Even worse than the strangers, it was the people she knew whom she dreaded most. The night after the Battle in Meridian, she was approached by War Chief Sona who was about to depart for her longed for home again. They walked together in the jubilant city, but despite the noise around them, her commanding voice was clear.

"Aloy, if you return to the Sacred Land and you are ready to begin your next stage of life, should you choose Varl as your mate you will have my blessing."

Aloy hadn't been drinking at the time, but what saliva was in her mouth shot back into her wind pipe. The proposition had caught her by surprise and she began to cough. The war chief placed a motherly hand on her back and thrust gently against her.

When Aloy had regained composure, the normally stoic woman was wearing a slight smirk. Sona was not known for jokes, Aloy was certain she was dead serious.

"Mate?" she coughed out, the dark woman continued.

"You are still young, I am not expecting you to leave with me now, but the Nora need strength and leadership in the years to come. He has been a good son to me, and I would be proud to claim you and your children as kin.

Uncharacteristically, Sona enveloped the red-head in a friendly hug. Aloy patted the other woman on the back and forced herself to smile.

"Umm, thanks War-Chief; I'll think about it"

She wondered if Varl knew what his mother had done, but she was definately not ready for 'the next stage of life'. Varl was a very attractive young man, and she loved that he always had her back in a fight. The problem with him was the way he looked at her, the admiration and adoration; he didn't see her as a woman, but as some thing to be worshipped. He just needed to grow out of that, maybe in time.

"Children" she muttered without thinking. Ikrie had been close enough on the hill to overhear.

"What about them?" she asked taking another few trudging steps.

"Oh, nothing...actually, I was remembering the mother of a Brave I fought aside with in Meridian. She's interested in me giving her grandchildren."

The pale northern woman laughed briefly at the story. In the Banuk culture, the old saying went that having an infant meant two less hands to hunt with, but she was aware that children were seen as a blessing in other places. Her interest caused her to address it further.

"Do you want little ones?"

Aloy stopped trying to move forward then. She looked into the curious face and answered honestly.

"I don't know. Maybe?"

Ikrie smirked mischievously then and took Aloys hand again.

"You know if I had been a man and you placed your intentions on me, you would probably be pregnant now."

Aloy threw her free hand up in the air in exasperation; she finally wanted to address this false story being told about her.

"Why do you and Lauvuk feel that I am the one who made the first move. As I recall, you're the one who wanted to have the naked massage bath--"

Ikrie tilted her head, confused as to what Aloy was so upset about.

"Because you asked me to have sex with you." she spoke out. "I was ready to go to sleep; I hadn't even considered sharing a bed with you until then."

"I did not!" Aloy said defensively. "What I said is I wanted to share some warmth...with...you...oh" she stopped herself then as she realized then that maybe she wasn't as clever with Banuk slang as she thought she was. The embarassed heat in her chest inflamed her head again, Ikrie covered her mouth and giggled as she suddenly understood what had happened.

"Oh Gaia" Aloy muttered. "I asked you to have sex with me infront of Lauvuk and Patras.

"I just thought you were taken by the heat of battle" Ikrie held her smile to the other woman, but a few embarassed moments went by with no words said. The Banuk woman finally broke it. "I don't regret it. You were wonderful to be with; I hope I get to touch you again before we take on The Claws Beneath"

Aloy couldn't help but smile. She didn't feel regret either. Their hand still linked, she pulled the woman close and grasped her second hand.

"Well...Lauvuk did offer to let us continue using the lodge. Maybe we...warm up again?" Aloy suggested flirtatiously.

Ikrie's eyes sparkled, and she leaned in as close as their headpieces would allow.

"Did you know about the cave at the bottom of this canyon? If nobody is in there right now..."

Aloy did know the cave. It was well lit with bluegleam lanterns but without a fire it was very cold. She didn't want to kill the vibe between them but realistically she didn't want to get undressed there either.

"Let's find food." she recommended. "I need the energy to keep up with you"

Ikrie held her gaze for another moment. In her mind she was seeing long blaze hued tresses thrown back with wild abandon as her heaving breasts arched into her face inviting her mouth to devour them. She loved like an experienced woman who had been deprived of touch for ages, yet Aloy's brief adjustment to the sensation of fingers inside of her and then the traces of blood under her short fingernails informed Ikrie that she had been her first lover. Of course this wouldn't be true if she had been with women in the way they had been in their first two sessions. Aloy was sweaty from their exertions; the sweet taste of her sex followed by the salt on her skin was intoxicating kissing back up Aloy's body those strong quivering thighs nearly smothered her. The blonde's mouth watered at the memories and she swallowed causing the Nora to wonder where her mind was.

Aloy clapped her hands infront of the other woman's face.

"Are you ok?"

The Banuk blinked a few times having been pulled out of her hypnotized state.

"Hungry, right, breakfast, let's go." She turned around and pulled Aloy towards the bottom of the canyon fixing her eyes towards the forest. Maybe they could catch a small creature such as a badger or rabbit; something easy to cook. In the distance, she could see movement, but it moved robotically like a red-eye watcher. This meant if they went into the woods they were going to have to put out more energy before they finally got to eat. Of course putting one down would be simple enough with some well aimed arrows, but they always gathered in packs. As she assessed how she was going to make the first move, she hadn't realized that her companion had walked up to the river and caught within her sight a fat trout. Without hesitation, she raised her spear and quickly put an end to this hunt.

Ikrie would never know why the visual of Aloy standing proudly with a flopping fish on a pike was such a turn on. In that moment she smiled widely, but it was tinged with frustration. There were iron pots and pans near the hearths inside the cave, but cooking took time and if she had just thought to buy something from the trader, they would have eaten long ago. They could still be writhing naked in the agony of glorious pleasures. The tattoo she would be receiving would have to be embellished further just to mark the extra chapter in the story--perhaps of how they had died in fire created by their love making...although the dead do not get to receive such things.

However, if they didn't leave, they may never have met Umnak and been invited on the greatest hunt yet to come. She didn't regret meeting him.

Alternatively, she mind deduced that he would have caught up with them at Snowchants anyway since he had been tracking Aloy anyway. He would have had to wait for them to finish and thus end any question he may have about if Ikrie had the stamina to fight alongside a legendary outlander. It just would have been rude to make him wait.

The two women made their way into the cave. The Nora warned that she was a terrible cook but that she had enough salt to hide any bad flavour if she overcooked it. Ikrie declared then that she would take charge of the breakfast making if Aloy would make fire in the two hearths. This wouldn't be too difficult and she was happy to be relieved of having to prepare the meat. She found it strange however, that before Ikrie took the black iron cooking pot to fetch water from the river, she removed her chest guard and outer jacket. Sure, it was mild for a cold day outside, but the inside of the cave was hardly better. She couldn't deny that it was enjoyable seeing her lover in fewer layers of clothing; she was wearing brown leather pants and shirt and Aloy smirked in appreciation for how the outfit accentuated Ikrie's curves. The woman was not as round as the Carja dancers who entertained the streets, or even herself. The northern woman was lean and strong with small perky breasts and a surprising lack of scars on her pale, almost blue skin. How the woman wasn't freezing as she carried the pot out was a mystery to Aloy, but she didn't comment on it, instead in kind, she removed the crown of her Shield Weave but nothing more, and built their fires.

There was a short distance between the cave entrance and the camping area set up by previous hunters. This area diverted into two paths that delved further into the system. Deeper down, Aloy knew there were Stalkers, but they just stuck to their area, she was not concerned about them searching for them. The perimeter showed no signs of fighting, it looked like the previous hunters knew this was a safe place as well. Just to be safe, Aloy set a few shock wires to guard the passageways. The walls were decorated with various Banuk symbols and colors, especially blues and yellows. She knew the signs were stories but she didn't understand just by looking at them. She wondered if it was common for the people to tattoo these markings on themselves as Ikrie was planning to do with their incident with the Fireclaw. Aloy took a few moments before her companion returned to sit on the cold floor near the fire and just try to absorb some warmth. She looked ahead of her and tried to interpret a few stories.

One blue triangle surrounded by red circles. The blue triangle carries a red stick. One hunter faced many predators, the hunter defeats them?

Two red lines parallel to the floor: Dead hunters. One blue line its centre is red: One injured hunter. It is within a circle: a battle that took an entire day. This one was painted too close to something else that got painted over so she wasn't able to figure out what its enemy had been.

A yellow square beside a blue square. A black line connects them. Strange, there is nothing more to the story. She looked up to the ceiling then and other parts of the cave wall and saw similar symbols in that orientation. Thankfully, her questions on that would be addressed sooner than later as Ikrie arrived back bearing a heavy cauldron of icy water. She smiled widely at Aloy as she placed it on the ground and picked up another pot before spilling some icy water into it.

"Hey Ikrie, these cave walls tell stories about its visitors right?" She asked as she stood up, preparing to be of assistance if requested.

"Yeah." Was the reply, Ikrie placed the larger pot on the cooking grate that covered the hearth. She then pointed to a large one on the wall behind Aloy. It was clearly a large claw coloured in red with blue finger tips. "That's the Thunderjaw that attacked the Burning Spear werak up in Ban-Ur. It killed a lot of hunters before it was finally taken down. I reckon this was drawn by one of the children of the fallen."

Interesting.

"What about these?" Aloy asked, pointed to the Yellow and Blue Square symbols that appeared several times. Ikrie's mouth made an O shape and she raised an eyebrow, but no words came out. Instead, she placed the second pot over the second hearth and dropped a packet of herbs in it.

"Fish soup and tea?" Ikrie asked, not addressing the question asked. She grinned before taking Aloy's spear, which had been leaning against the cave wall, and used her knife to force the fish into the pot. "Why are you wearing so much clothing?" she continued. "It's hot in here."

The Nora had to agree that it was not as cold now that the blaze was going, but it didn't feel to her as hot as the Banuk woman was making it out to be. Also, she was being evasive, which piqued her curiosity even more.

A different packet of herbs was dropped into the pot which would be their tea.

Aloy cleared her throat to get the other woman's attention to no avail. Ikrie picked up a metal spoon out of another cooking pot and gave their future meal a swirl with it. She looked up then at the inquisitive outlander and cheekily turned her back to her, keeping her attention elsewhere.

The Nora wasn't sure how to interpret this. On the one hand, Ikrie was making their meal so she was busy, but it was soup? There was nothing more to do until it was done. Thinking perhaps she needed to try another approach, she moved directly behind the blonde. She placed her arms around her and pulled her close. She could hear the other woman's breathing hitch as her lips approached her ear.

"Why won't you tell me?"

Ikrie closed her eyes and dropped the large spoon into the pot; she pressed back into the embrace. The metal armor was an unfortunate barrier between them, but it wouldn't be a difficult one to remove. She groaned as Aloy pressed her lips softly against her neck; she would tell her anything she wanted. The northern woman wasn't trying to be coy, but her hands had been busy and no Banuk worth their Bluegleam would tell a story without animated movements. Also, she needed to gauge the fiery woman's response. Every story could change depending on how one's audience reacted to it and the one she was about to tell was quite simple, but she had time to be creative.

"Alright" she began, pushing back on Aloy to give herself space to talk. She walked up to the set of symbols closest to them. "Give me a moment." She looked closely back and forth between them before moving on to another set, and then a third set. There were more, but she left it at these three. She looked back to Aloy and was struck by the affectionate smile she was receiving. She returned the expression but had to take in a few breaths to calm down the palpitations in her chest. It made her feel even warmer than she had been a moment ago, but she imagined it was just the heat of the large fire between them. She clapped her hands together before raising them to the sky and began the tale.

"Outlander! Many stories you have heard along the road, and many you have made in your journey to these frozen wilds. By the side of your humble narrator you have walked, and fought and bled for, and in this place of mysteries you have come seeking answers. These lips are yours to command and shall speak no lies!" She touched her own lips with three fingers the presented her palm from this hand. "I sing the song of one, two and three" she pointed to each of the three paintings "who in this place of sanctuary, fate bequeathed them each the same gift. Hands together, two and two and two, "She held her hand out to Aloy who reached out interlocking their fingers "seeking a kind relief from the cruelty of winter come together, they held each other closely, becoming one and one and one. And the walls remember them, and the gifts of many others of our yesterdays, tomorrows and today, a story as hallowed as any hunt, for what is the song of the hearts beat than that of life."

It was a lot of flowery language, but Aloy got the gist of it. She wanted to ask why Ikrie needed to go through the whole process of making a story when she could have just said "A lot of people stopped by here and coupling occurred", but she liked the way the blonde woman was staring at her with dark eyes and semi-opened lips. Her own mouth felt dry then and she licked them for the moisture, but she realized then that maybe Ikrie was right, that the cave was very warm.

"Aloy," the Banuk spoke with throaty voice. The Nora felt an instant rush of wetness down below. "Did you like my story?" She moved to be before the stunned looking red head, who nodded and coughed to clear her throat.

"Mmmhmm, s'good." She hadn't noticed that Ikrie's hand had come up to her shoulder and before she knew it, the metal hull of her armor fell with a clank on the stone floor. The sound was like a signal. Aloy couldn't stretch out the tension between them any longer, aggressively she closed their distance and smashed her lips against Ikrie's, painfully feeling her teeth break skin, but she didn't care. They moaned into one another's mouths flavoured by copper, even as the blonde redirected them and pushed Aloy against the cave wall and dextrously began undoing her pants.

Ikrie growled and sucked hard against her bottom lip as enough of her clothing was loosened and she was able to slide her hand inside to cup the soft and wet ginger mound.

For the most part, Aloy was fully clothed as she was taken against the wall of the hunters cave. Ikrie's adept fingers played with her and they found a rhythm much too quickly before with a high exhale of quivering breath, Aloy's release came as she gripped Ikrie's body to keep from falling. She held onto that sweet northern face and used her thumb to wipe off the blood from the side of her mouth. She kissed her once again before she herself began trying to undress her lover. Ikrie pulled off her jacket revealing her underlayer of clothing, the soft body suit that was done up in buttons. Aloy kneeled and arranged the jacket so she could be on the floor.

"Where ya going?" Ikrie said breathily as her buttons continued to be undone. The red head was the skin beneath the fabric as it was revealed. She looked up and with an impish grin.

"Becoming worthy of a cave painting I hope."

Ikrie had to chuckle then, it helped push back the worry. Her heart pounded as Aloy's bitten lips kissed the top of her pubic hair and nuzzled it and inhaled.

"You shouldn't be doing that." A voice in the back of her head spoke in an annoyed tone, but it was silenced by what sounded like a muffled snarl coming from Aloy. She hadn't realized her eyes had been shut, but when she opened them, those hazel orbs were fixed intently on her awaiting permission.

"Let me" her words barely a whisper but they conveyed so much more within the Banuk woman. A chance at forgiveness and healing was being offered, trust. She could feel some strong emotion in her chest and behind her eyes, but she didn't let the sting of it show. Instead, she placed her hand within her fiery tresses and offered herself. Aloy smiled, and lifted one of her legs over her shoulders. It disbalanced Ikrie, she used her other hand to hold against the cave wall in front of her.

Neither of them would remember it as having been an especially graceful act. Athletic would have been a more apt description, it had taken a lot of balance and strength to keep themselves from tipping over. Aloy hungrily lapped up the sweet nectar as her tongue made swirls and different patterns on the whole of her sex. She tried to use Ikrie's moans as a sign that she was doing something right or that she should try something else when she moved her hips away. She knew she was in a good place when she placed the hard flat of her tongue against Ikrie's clit and the Banuk woman began thrusting her hips into her face, her breath loud but rhythmic, she called out loudly,

"Stay there!...Oh... Stay, Ok!"

Aloy let her take her pleasure and her neck threatened to cramp, but Ikrie sounded so incredibly sexy as she became louder the closer she came to release.

"There!...Oh...Ohhh...Aloy yes! Oh! Ahhhh!"

Ikrie gripped the back of Aloy's head hard as her climax rushed through her like waves, and she rocked her hips with it until it was calm. So calm. It wasn't a feeling she was used to, and the feeling she had pushed back before returned in full force. It felt like a hand gripping her heart attempting to soothe the broken places, it was warm.

When Aloy looked up, she was startled by the tears she again saw falling down Ikrie's cheeks. It took only a second as their eyes reconnected that she understood what she was seeing was neither fear nor sadness as she had seen the previous night. There was a lightness in her eyes and in the muscles of her face; somehow she seemed to be more beautiful than ever because even though she was crying, she seemed to be caught up in another feeling. To her, it seemed closer to happiness.

Aloy bursting with compassion pulled Ikrie to the ground and held her close.

By the warmth of the fire, the two women shared a few peaceful moments forgetting briefly that they may not live to see the day after tomorrow.  
  
A heavenly spicy aroma filled the cave, a sign their tea was ready to drink and soon would be followed by their meal.

The hunt was soon to continue.


	6. Songs Written by Frost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ikrie gets her tattoo

Disclaimer:  Again, I don't own any part of HZD

Rating for this one might be a T.  It's getting a little angsty I think, there's a chance I might take this down to remove some of that.

 

Chapter Six

As it turned out, Ikrie wasn't much of a cook either. The two women ate the boiled fish and drank the flavourful yet salty broth instead of tea. The water intended to be their beverage instead was used for hygenic purposes leaving them both flowery scented. Ikrie asked Aloy to add some braids to her hair to which she was happy to oblige.

The hunting of the goat ended up fairly short, there happened to be one near the top of the canyon slope they had come down from. They dragged the dead animal back to Snowchants Hunting Ground where Umnak was sitting with four young men, presumably the ones who had been doing challenges earlier.

Lauvuk met them on the edge of her site just out of earshot of the group telling. stories to one another and laughing. Her face was serious, her voice low.

"I need to speak with you both, please, go into the lodge I'll be with you soon. Talk to nobody."

Uncertain of why their host was behaving strangely but trusting her, Aloy gave the rope that had dragged the goat to Lauvuk. Neither woman spoke as they approached the lodge and they would need to pass by the group to get to the door.

Aloy hoped they would be ignored, the young men were in company of one of Ban-Ur's most celebrated hunters, but it was not to be so easy. A dark skinned fellow with tan coloured eyes saw them first and knew them immediately. Lauvuk had already regaled them with the story of their victory, he raised his hand to them in acknowledgement.

"Outlander! Snow Ghost!"

The three others of his group turned and cheered a welcome greeting, Umnak looked to the ground.

They looked friendly to Aloy, but life had taught her that scum was not inherently ugly. She raised a hand in greeting but it was immediately captured in the air by Ikrie who used her it to spin her around so they were face to face. Ikrie, who had pulled off the horns on her hood, pressed closely against her Nora lover and kissed her tenderly. Aloy could hear the men talking quietly amongst themselves.

"Oh, damn"

"The hunt rages on."

"Do you think they want a third?"

"Shut up Yerin, you're not in that song. Sorry, we won't bother you anymore."

And that was the end of it. They turned around and ignored them again, leaving the two women gazing at one another contemplating how important it was they move on to their next mission.

They held hands as they entered the tent and found things looking different than when they had left it. The pile of furs that had been their bed had been tidied away, and in its place were two chairs with a small table between them. On the table was a metal instrument next to a glass filled with black liquid.

Ikrie gasped and began removing her top layers of clothing.

"My tattoo!"

The redhead's curiosity was piqued. She walked to the table and picked up the instrument. It looked like a miniature version of her Ice Rail, she hoped it didn't function similarly or it must hurt terribly. Her eyes went to Ikrie who was placing her heavy jacket onto the bed, but the woman stopped when she saw what Aloy was holding. Her heart beat accelerated both in fear and delight at the sight. Being marked was something she was proud to do and to have done in the past. Lauvuk was the one to do her most recent tattoo, the fourth that was etched onto her spine. It was an owl's feather to represent Mailen who now and always would be behind her but always a part of her. Two were basic black circles, they were her parents. The third was a hollowed circle with a small square in its center. Outside of the circle were two flat lines, one above and one below it. She didn't like the story behind it, especially since Mailen was the one to give it to her. Lauvuk's technique was so much better than her former partner's.

"Does this hurt much?" Aloy asked as she noticed the bottom of it seemed to be missing a part that would be screwed into it. Likely its power source. She touched the only button on the device and when it didn't do anything, she concluded her assessment was correct.

"It can." Ikrie confirmed. She moved to stand before the Nora and held the device with her. "But it's so worth it, to place memories on your body." Her voice was breathier, excited. She directed the device to her right hand to the area below her thumb and forefinger. "There, is where Lauvuk will mark me but...if you want one too, I'm sure she could make that happen."

"Me?" Aloy raised her eyebrow, she then gave the other woman the non-smiling teeth grin she gave when she was uncomfortable. "Errr, maybe not. My body is already marked with a lot of memories, I'm sure you saw many of the scars. I'm sorry."

Ikrie smiled widely and didn't fight her on it. "I didn't think you would actually want one, but I thought it would have been rude to not at least put it out there for you to consider."

Two sets of hazel eyes met and invited the other to close their distance with a sweet and lingering kiss. Aloy felt tingly where they connected, their lips, her left hand where they still held the inking tool. While sex was a nice outcome, the Nora imagined she could be just as happy to be close to Ikrie kissing her, making easy conversation, maybe planning what they wanted to do the next day if anything. She didn't know what people did on a day to day basis when they had romantic relationships, but she thought maybe it would be nice to walk into the unknowable future next to somebody else.

She didn't know what to make of these thoughts, but she pulled back from Ikrie who gave her a hazy smile.

"Mmmm, what's up?" the Banuk questioned.

She had also been swept up in their simple pleasure, but Aloy's shy expression was utterly cute; her eyes were lowered and she used her free hand to pull loose hair back behind her ear. Ikrie didn't realize how correct she was. The redhead was struggling to find the words to convey how she felt. Being rejected for nearly the entirety of her life, it wasn't an easy thing to be emotionally open to another person. Knowing what she knew about the northern woman though, she considered that not telling her would be even worse than holding back.

Aloy took the inking tool and placed it back down on the table and put both of her hands on Ikrie's shoulders.

The long pause was starting to get to Ikrie. She didn't know what to expect and she wanted her lover to not be afraid to speak her mind.

"Aloy?" she pressed. The red head looked up, took in a breath and declared:

"Ikrie, I...I like you."

Ikrie blinked rapidly in surprise and tried to figure out what to do with this information. It hadn't occurred to her previously that Aloy didn't like her. She didn't reflect on it, the past 24 hours had been in a go with the flow mode. She responded.

"Oh, ahh, Aloy. I like you too."

A goofy grin spread on the face of the freckled redhead, she pulled Ikrie to her who was happy to accept the embrace.

"I don't trust most people" Aloy admitted. "Everybody wants or expects things...but you... you didn't try to knock me down to make yourself look bigger, and you didn't place me above you...I like...this...us"

It made Ikrie feel warm to receive such kind words. She also enjoyed what they were doing, whatever it was. She pecked Aloy's cheek.

"Thank you" she said. "I like this too" she pecked Aloy's bottom lip. "But for the record, I like having you above me."

Aloy had to laugh then, she continued to do so as she left kisses on Ikrie's cheek. The uneven air tickled against the Banuk's ear and she squirmed against her lover. In response, she clutched the clothing above Aloy's buttocks and squeezed with one hand. Aloy's mirthful lips continued to chuckle as they met against Ikrie's.

This was easy. This was right.

They were still kissing and giving each other ticklish touches when the door flap whipped open and the gruff body of their hostess made her way in. She rolled her eyes.

"I sent those boys away so you two...that's enough for now!"

In the older woman's hand was a palm sized metal part that had a glass centre filled with chillwater.

Aloy's eyes bulged out as she understood that Ikrie's tattoo was going to be made possible with the help of frostbite. Ikrie kissed the others cheek once more before they separated, neither of them spoke. The two Banuk women took seats at the table and began going over the details of the tattoo to be created. Ikrie presented her right hand and showed where she wanted the pattern to go.

With nothing better to do, Aloy decided to start preparing for The Claws Beneath. She would barter with Patras for supplies and begin doing some strategy with Umnak who could at least give her an idea about what kind of machine it was. She informed the two others as to what she was about to do, the groundskeeper stopped her.

"Don't bother, I sent that old bastard off too."

"Are you kidding!" The fiery headed one exclaimed irately. "I don't know where we're going or even what we're up against--"

"If you know what's good for you, you'll leave The Cut as you had planned to do." The older woman nodded towards Ikrie. "Take this one with you, keep her alive!"

"You're trying to keep us from going?" Ikrie asked, stunned. "Umnak asked--"

"You answered the call, blah blah blah. That man has been at this for ages and he still hasn't figured out how to kill it. Nearly everyone in Ban-Ur can claim to have lost people to this monster, some of us lost more than others!" Lauvuk's voice was angry. "I forbade him, on the life of my brother and daughter from telling those boys The Claws Beneath has returned. They deserve to live and hunt and tell us their songs--"

"But it will go on killing if someone doesn't put it down," Aloy boldly interrupted. "I'm not saying it will be easy but I've already faced off against things people told me I would never defeat. I just need to know what it is."

"It's a Rockbreaker" Lauvuk answered as a matter of face. "That's what an adventurer from the Sundom called it some years back. He died too."

"A Rockbreaker. I've killed those before..."

Now Aloy could begin strategizing. This type of machine had weaknesses that were exploitable, but it was not something one should try to face up close. For one thing, you needed to be far from it when it began to bore into the earth lest you be dragged under with it. Also, fighting it from a distance was not necessarily a smart thing to do either. It was capable of hurling enormous boulders at a hunter with deadly accuracy.

Lauvuk sighed deeply in resignation. "I know you're going to go...and I'll even tell you where to find it."

The groundskeeper clipped the battery piece into the main tool and the completed device began to make a low humming sound. The chillwater within it also reacted, turning a bright blue.

"Thank you" Aloy spoke in a distracted voice. Her eyes had become fixated on what Lauvuk was doing. She watched how the tip of the tool was dipped into the ink jar and her eyes became wide as she brought it close to Ikrie. When she touched the button near her thumb, it began to vibrate in a motion like two hands rubbing together up and down.

She looked to Ikrie as it made contact with the skin and found that the Banuk's eyes were fixated on her. Aloy watched the other woman's jaw clench, saw her try to force her breathing to stay calm, then after a few drops of ink had been etched into her skin, Ikrie smiled. It was utterly fascinating but the Nora had no doubts that the pain must be immense. She wasn't sure what she should be doing to be supportive, the Banuk had an idea.

"Aloy, can you tell me how you killed a Rockbreaker? I love your voice, can you tell it as a story?"

The Nora had never received such a strange proposition. She was not experienced in weaving facts into an adventurous tale. Even when she had been staying near her mother, when people asked her to recount her stories, they were simple and to the point. She discovered soon that better story tellers were retelling what she had said, only with far more flair. She didn't mind it too much because it meant that fewer people would be asking her the same questions over again.

"Oh...I'm not very good at making stories, but I can try" she replied somewhat hesitantly. She thought it would be embarrassing to try to do it in the Banuk way, with dramatic arms and at times even sound effects.  Ikrie could tell she was trying to overthink it, so she gave her some direction.

"Where did it happen, what was going on that day?"

Aloy sat on the bunk across from Ikrie's chair and began the story.

"Ok, well, it was in an Oseram quarry just outside of Meridian.  It was hot, but it was windy and the sand was blowing everywhere."

"What's an Oseram quarry?"  Lauvuk interrupted.

"The Oseram like to dig up the earth to find treasures from the old ones, it's metal they're mostly looking for.  They use enormous digging machines to move the rock and sand, everything they do is very loud.  If its not the steam and gears from their machines, it's their explosives which they make from blaze.  Anyway, I was heading north along the road because I was searching for somebody, but I was stopped because the foreman was trying to convince his workers to get back on the job.  Everybody was terrified about the mysterious disappearances in the quarry."

"Who were you looking for?"  Ikrie asked with a smile through gritted teeth.  The arch in her design was complete.

"That's a longer story, maybe another time."  Aloy apologized.  The man she was looking for was Olin, whom she heard was travelling up the northern path she was on.  Telling his story would definitely not teach anything about killing the beast they would be facing.  She continued.  "Anyway, I offered to check out the grounds.  The focus I wear is able to detect movements.  I thought I would be able to find out if perhaps the workers had run off on the job. I was wrong.  The quarry was very big, and I was right in the center of it when I felt the rumbling beneath the earth.  I didn't know what it was, so I didn't move, then all of a sudden the ground opened up in front of me and a machine the size of a Thunderjaw emerged.  I didn't know what to do so I shot it with some arrows and I began running, but I didn't realize that it dug it self back below and was following me!  When it came back up, it was right underneath my feet and it thrust me up into the air and thankfully, against the side of the quarry wall.  It hurled big rocks at me"  She stopped for a moment when she saw that she was about to receive another question, this time from Ikrie.  Aloy spread her arms to show size.  "Most of them were bigger than a cooking pot, I climbed up the wall and I think I got hit in the head by something because most of the details are fuzzy after that.  But I've killed a few more after this one and I can tell you that if you destroy its feet, it can't dig anymore, nor can it hurl rocks.  It's fast on the ground though, so if you have traps ready, it will slowly blow itself up in its pursuit of you."

Ikrie was still smiling, but her eyes were closed.   Lauvuk was burning in ink the final survivor.  The three arrows were complete beneath the daylong hunt with two victors.  The hum of the device was silenced.

Aloy stood from the bed to take a look.  It was bleeding very little, mostly where lines met their ends.  The older woman wiped away the blood with a clean rag and then she pulled a satchel from her pocket which had Medicinal Salvebrush within it.  Having used this medicine before, the Nora was not surprised when the woman popped the plant into her mouth and began to chew it, turning to plant into a healing paste.  It was very good at closing open wounds.

The redhead then kneeled before Ikrie whose eyes were still closed, she wondered what the Banuk doing.  Wasn't she curious to see what the old groundskeeper had done to her hand?

"Ikrie, it's done."  Aloy put a hand on her knee and spoke softly.  "Do you want to look?"

The blonde woman shook her head.  Her hand was then wrapped up in a linen bandage.

"Not yet.  It will look better after it's healed, but I can feel it."  Ikrie opened her eyes then, they looked happy.  Proud.  She placed her free hand over Aloy's.  "Thank you for telling me your story.  I feel like our chances of surviving this have gone up, just knowing you've hunted them before."

A rush of relief filled Aloy's chest then, that her lover no longer saw their imminent deaths as a certainty.  The flame headed woman had no desire to die in the north, and she was definitely not okay with the idea of burying Ikrie in the ice.  They would either win or walk away, these were the only choices.

Lauvuk began taking apart her instruments.  Her role in the song was over and she felt the need to give the women some space.  There was something special that was growing between these two, but what it was to become only time would tell.  In her life, she had fallen in love twice.   The first was to the man who fathered her child, but he became sick while she was pregnant and he passed away before the little girl was born.  The second time she knew love was when she was a member of the all women's werak, Thunder's Daughters.  Latraya was a gentle, yet fierce woman who treated her daughter like her own child.  When Nichai came of age, she answered the call to hunt with Umnak, but she was not ready and her body was never found.  The grief tore Lauvuk and Latraya apart, so Lauvuk left and eventually she ended up at Snowchants where she became its groundskeeper.

The old woman sighed deeply.  She wanted to implore with them to reconsider what they were about to do, but she knew it would be futile.  That's how it always was with hunters.  Instead, she did the only thing she knew she could do:  Keep them alive a little while longer.

"Ikrie, Aloy...perhaps it will be your time, to defeat The Claws Beneath, but right now you are not ready.  If you make me a list of the things you need, I'll barter them for a better price from Patras.  Stay for one more night, and then at dawn go east.  There's a hidden valley surrounded by the mountain peaks, this is where it has been sighted."

"How far away is it?"  The Nora asked, wondering why it wouldn't be better to leave as soon as they had supplies since there were still daylight hours ahead of them.

Lauvuk looked at her impatiently.  "Far enough!"  She thought, but instead she replied.

"Only a few hours.  It will give you plenty of light to hunt."

"What--"  Aloy had questions, but the gruff woman had enough, she raised a single finger before her face to shut the Nora up.

"Stop!"  She ordered.  "You will have time to plan here, but I know you cannot fully strategize until you see the land that will be your battle ground.  If you left now, it would be dusk when you arrive and if you do something foolish, you might have to begin your hunt tonight if he finds you."  The older woman began to calm down, but the two huntresses kept quiet, uncertain if they were about to piss their hostess off further.  "I'll have food ready in a few hours, but please stay.  Talk, sleep, and enjoy one another.  If either of you doesn't survive tomorrow, you'll at least be able to remember you had today."

She spoke no more and left them sitting in silence.

It had been a strange 24 hours for Aloy.  At this time yesterday, she was casually walking through the wilds and looking for her friend.  In time, she found her, already having begun the hunt Aloy was going to invite her to participate in.  By dusk they were champions and when the moon was high, the friends had become lovers.  Her first.  After a lifetime of being denied companionship or familiar touch, she was surprised in herself on how well she soaked it up and how she much she craved it.  Lauvuk was right.  They needed to be on site to develop a good strategy.  She would to talk to Ikrie about the weak points on a Rockbreaker, how to trick it and how to evade it, but not at this moment.  The old woman had just given them the gift of time, it could happen a little later.

She was still kneeling before the chair.  She reached up and touched Ikrie's cheek.  The Banuk woman leaned into her touch.  To her, Aloy seemed sad.  They had things to do, but right now all she wanted to do was to help the beautiful outlander.  Their hands were still connected by Ikrie's knee.  The Banuk raised them up and kissed the back of Aloy's hand.  She was rewarded with a shy smile.

"Song of my heart, what do you need?"  Ikrie asked gently. 

Aloy was slightly confused if what she had heard was a Banuk figure of speech, or an affectionate nickname, but her lover's intention was clear.  She unclasped their hands and then wrapped her arms around the seated woman.  Afterwards, she placed her ear above where Ikrie's heart would be underneath her clothes.  Not caring if she was using what her lover had said correctly, she told her what she wanted.

"Song of my heart.  Can we just hold each other for now."

* * *

I am uncertain with what I will do to chapter seven.  I haven't decided yet if it will be a long and detailed romantic chapter, or if I will skip over to the next day and get right to the fight.  Neither fights nor sex are easy to write.  I tried to get six out quickly in hopes of having the momentum to start the next one right away.

I really want to get Aloy out of The Cut, but the darn snow keeps slowing her down.

If you have any feedback, let me know, thanks!


	7. The Stubborn Nature of Hunters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter
> 
> Lauvuk has a plan that could potentially mess things up between Aloy and Ikrie

 Disclaimer:  I don't own any part of HZD.  Again, I didn't use a beta reader.  This was originally set to be either a romance or a fighting chapter, but I'm not a fan of Deus Ex Machina. That will make sense in like 2 or 3 chapters.

So, chapter eight will now be the romance chapter.  I think I have to write it.

 

Chapter 7

With no goals set, the two women kissed and made out in various settings within the tent. It began in the chair, then after Aloy wanted to remove her jacket, it moved to standing beside the bed. More clothing came off until they were both down to their underclothes, and then they moved onto the bed narrow bed that forced them to lie close together. It was the reason they ended up throwing the furs on the floor the night before, the bunks didn't leave a lot of room to maneuver. Most of their touches were non-sexual, but at times someone's hands would "accidently" caress a sensitive part on the body of the other causing them to gasp, or moan, or even giggle.

It didn't turn into full out sex, as in between make-out sessions, they also used their lips to make conversation. Aloy talked about the fighting style of previous Rockbreakers she had fought, just because Ikrie wouldn't share anything personal until her curiosity about the monsters met some satisfaction. Afterwards, Ikrie talked about the man who had taught her how to be a marksman, it was the son of their Werak's chief. He also taught other children, but Mailen learned from her father. The chief's son was not thought of as being a great hunter, but not because he was bad at it, but because he was lazy. He didn't like to have to clean his weapons, or skinning animals or scavenging through the bodies of fallen machines. His saving virtue was that he had the patience to teach, and was very good at making arrow heads. The story didn't go beyond that before the Banuk inquired the Nora about different aspects of growing up an outcast.  

The extended hours of foreplay with unsexy chats left their bodies buzzing by the time Lauvuk whacked something against the door flap and announced they should come out and eat. It was a true hardship to get any amount of clothing back on either woman. Aloy opted to not put on her entire Shield Weaver and instead just put on her Outcast gear with her Banuk gloves. It would be colder, but she didn't plan on being outside for very long. Ikrie did similarly, putting on only the heavy jacket and pants.

They also needed to give their host a list of things for purchase. Since neither carried parchment paper, it was decided they would just gave to verbally relay their needs which were not too extensive: Arrows, all varieties and as many that can be spared. Blast bombs. Trip caster ammunition, also any and all to be spared. Bandages, salvebrush, and if it was possible to acquire an Oseram beverage also known as Oserum, as an elixer if they survive the ordeal. This one was Ikrie's request, Aloy didn't have a taste for alcohol, especially after watching what a fool it made of Erend, but if and when they made it, she would slug back a shot to celebrate.

It was not quite dark when the women emerged from the tent. The temperature was much more mild than it was earlier signalling that either there was more snow coming, or the springtime was finally arriving in the north.

They sat by Lauvuk around the fire and before they began eating told her what they would need. The older woman didn't have much to say on the matter, she handed them their bowls for the stew and left them to help themselves.  

Lauvuk was still irate with them for wanting to go on this quest.  The longer she sat and thought about it, the angrier she felt.  In her life, she had seen the best of hunters stand with certainly and declare that this was the day The Claws Beneath would be vanquished.  Her breast ached above her heart.  It always hurt when she thought of her long dead child whose newborn silvery blue eyes looked up to her for protection.   Lauvuk had been proud of of Nichai for being chosen to hunt with Umnak, but if she knew that day in the old Werak it would be the last time to embrace her daughter, she would have done anything to have stopped her. 

She watched Aloy and Ikrie sit close together and make soft and idle conversation as new lovers do.  She saw their hands reach for one another, offering the other food and her chest filled with sorrow because with certainty, at least one of them would not be returning.  Tonight their tent would be filled with the sounds of life and pleasure, but tomorrow, it would be of grieving.  They were both fine hunters, she couldn't deny that, but the fact was they were only two and they would be facing an expert killer.

Then, an idea came to her.  She, as a groundskeeper was privy to many songs sung throughout The Cut and even Ban-Ur.  She also knew that Umnak would not be the only person who would be aware of the return of the Banuk's greatest foe, but she was sure that few would know where to find it.  The reason that Lauvuk even knew was because she forced the man to tell her where it was so she could guide people away from it.

The Claws Beneath needed to die, and the odds were good it would take at least one of these women.  While she couldn't save them, she could at least avenge them and those already long lost.  Lauvuk would negotiate their goods, and then she would leave.  She hadn't been far from the grounds of Snowchants for years, but The Cut was The Cut, she knew how to get where she needed to go.

There were other hunters of Aloy's calibre she could approach. 

Having read Ikrie's story on her body while tattooing her the first time, she knew whom she would approach would not be people the young woman would want to hunt with.  Her life was etched with small victories, but the drawings on her spine, they reflected deep wounds she had endured but had never been permitted to heal from.  Lauvuk deduced the woman's esteem for Aloy was the only reason Ikrie would engage in any kind of physical connectivity.  For the past few months the girl had been shutting herself out to the world, because that is the way of the Snow Ghost--to hunt alone and leave without tracks, to accept the icy wind as your betrothed, and on your final day, accept her embrace as she claims your final breath and relieves you of your pains.

Ikrie stood up first, having finished her food.  She took Aloy's hands and lifted her up to hold her against her body.  The way she touched and kissed the outlander, Lauvuk could see her heart open, and if they could just walk away, they could have a chance at happiness.  She knew that if she were to tell them now what she was planning to do, their joy would be interrupted.  She could only hope that what they forged in the evening would give the girl the strength to face the ones who wrecked her heart in the first place.  Or more specifically, one person.

Her mind was set.  She had to do it.  For the Banuk.  For Nichai.

 

* * *

 

In my mind, Lauvuk would ride off on a strider, but then I thought "because old hunting lodge keepers know how to tame striders now?"

I hope she doesn't have arthritis, she has a long walk ahead of her.

 


	8. Descent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ikrie and Aloy enjoy one last night at Snowchants Hunting Grounds.  
>  

Disclaimer:  I own no part of Horizon Zero Dawn

Warnings:  I don't use a beta reader and this is the rewritten chapter 8.

 

Chapter 8

Part One

The art of romance was not a skill Ikrie had ever had to develop. Sex between her an Mailen had been a one sided thing and only at her former partner's behest. Theirs was a fractured friendship; the thing that bound them together was also what kept them apart. Ikrie knew that for Mailen to get the things she needed in life, a family and a community, it would have to be without her. Once she had them, she would have to learn to live alone because that was her destiny, right?

Aloy's accidental initiation of whatever was happening between them was forcing her to question where she thought life was taking her. The first time they had been together, the Banuk had enjoyed it, but for herself, she considered it to be functional. She was only an instrument of giving pleasure. When Aloy had tried to give back, it opened up hurt places inside of her that told her she was not worthy; couldn't the Nora sense how irreparably broken she was?

She couldn't understand how she ended up in this place, but she knew she could trust Aloy.

As they sat side by side and dined by the fire, she felt no need to hold back her feelings, nay, her desires. Her body was humming with anticipation; tonight, on perhaps their last night alive, they would only belong to one another. It made sitting so close together still feel far away.

"I miss your skin" she casually commented, placing a gloved hand on Aloy's clothed thigh. "I miss the sound of your voice as I touch you"

The red head sighed dreamily and let her mind wander into that image.

"Soon" she promised and took another bite of food.

Ikrie also spooned a mouthful of the well seasoned rabbit stew and silently gave thanks to the animal which would fuel her fervour. Her eyes turned to Aloy's lips and throat as she swallowed. The Banuk couldn't help but smile as her tongue protruded to lick the side of her mouth, not because it was sexy, but because it was precious.

"What?" Aloy laughed although it made her feel strangely shy to be so scrutinized. Ikrie swallowed her food then leaned over to softly kiss the red head. When they parted, she grinned and gazed upon her lover with admiration. A similar expression was returned.

"It pleases me to look at you." she admitted. "I also like the way you look at me. It makes me feel like I want to get you alone."

Aloy released the breathe she hadn't realized she was holding. Her heart was beating wildly beneath her chest, and all thoughts of appetite left her. She claimed another kiss from Ikrie and moaned softly into her mouth. "Do you think Lauvuk would be pissed of if we didn't finish eating?" She then whispered, causing the Banuk woman to chuckle.

"With you, no. But I feel like she would hold me accountable for us wasting food and feel like she would come bang on the door during an important moment.  Let's just finish this quickly and go."

The meal didn't take much longer to complete, with their eyes alone, they dared each other to take large exaggerated bites and found humour in how ridiculous they looked to one another.

When they were done, Ikrie took their dishes and instructed the redhead to wait for her. Aloy watched her leave to rinse them off in Lauvuk's supply tent, but her eyes went to the fire before her once she was out of sight. Her forearms were bare and developing goosebumps, but she hadn't even noticed the cold when Ikrie was next to her. She would come back soon though, and then they could undress again and warm each other up. She chuckled to herself that she would use an expression so naively, but as she had stated earlier, she had no regrets.

Maybe if she had said it before her quests had ended, like others before, she would have pushed her away. Or maybe she wouldn't have? When they first kissed, something sparked inside of her to quickly ignite as her body awoke to receive the much craved affection.

Ikrie felt safe to let her guard down with and her touch was so confident. During her first orgasm, her body rocked so violently that her eyes began to water, but it had been such a revelation that she let her Banuk continue to pleasure her in different ways that made her question why she hadn't participated with other interested persons sooner.

Her introduction to the topic was when she was a child; she was hunting with Rost when they came upon a pair of lovers in the distant woods. A young woman was rocking astride a young man, and while it was fascinating, her stout father-figure wouldn't let her stay to watch. When she asked him what they were doing, he told her they were trying to create a child under the blessed eyes of All-Mother. It wasn't the last time she would see Nora coupling in the forest; various couples in various ways, but like Rost had taught, she would just go and hunt someplace else. It had stuck with her though, that intercourse was for making babies and everything else was just for pleasure. This was why she was surprised when Ikrie had asked to be inside of her, and being so drunk with lust, she could only consent.

Her womb quivered at the memory; the initial feeling of pressure giving way to eventual near blinding pleasure. It made her smile as she came up with the answer to the question of why it was good she hadn't become sexually active until now: How could she have continued on her mission when all she could think about was sex?  On that subject, Ikrie had finally returned and held her hands to her.

"Come to me" the Banuk spoke while raising the outlander up to her feet.  She pulled her in closely, Aloy's head became dizzy.  She felt like she was shivering, but beneath, it was like a flame had been set beneath her skin.

"Ikrie"  she whispered.  Their lips were close together but not touching.  Ikrie could feel the heat of her love's breath against her skin and the power of the desire in her eyes.  Her own heart felt strength like never before, its song was true.  Aloy the outlander and the legendary hunter; beloved of the Nora, the Carja, and the Banuk. 

Aloy, the love of Ikrie. 

The night was long ahead of them, she would deny her nothing.

She took a step back and pulled the redhead forward, their eyes not parting.  With wordless understanding, they nodded to one another, accepting what was going to happen next.  

The wait was finally over.

* * *

Ikrie couldn't keep her eyes off of Aloy who was quickly disrobing and carelessly tossing the matter on a bottom bunk. She on the other hand was taking her time; her jacket was undone button by button in a practiced manner. There was an anxiety in her chest, undressing with Aloy felt different than it did earlier. Her eyes drank in the sight of her lover becoming exposed, every inch of skin she needed to touch and taste and infuse with gratitude for sharing her beauty. It all beckoned her forward. She dropped her jacket carelessly to the ground and approached the newly undressed woman from behind and pulled her against herself.

"Ack" Aloy cried out in surprise but she was immediately soothed by the tender lips kissing the side of her neck. She sighed in delight for the enveloping warmth and hands caressing her breasts and stomach.

"More of you my Aloy" Ikrie breathlessly whispered, turning the womans body around. Aloy was frustrated to find the blonde woman still partially dressed. Her hands went to the waist of her pants as her eager lover's lips planted against hers. She pulled back and shook her head at the wanton Banuk trying to kiss her again.

"Take these off!" she commanded impatiently as she manipulated its button free. Ikrie smiled goofily and obeyed.

"Ya ya" she commented in a lustful haze as she pushed the pants over her hips and to the floor.

Aloy became excited by the revealing of pale blue skin and the promise of the soft warmth that would soon be up against her. Her eyes went to Ikrie's golden triangle and imagined how she would like to taste her again, although the slight pain in her neck reminded her she should do it in a safer position next time. She gave an approving, almost lecherous smirk. She wanted to describe to Ikrie what it was like to gaze upon her but the only sound she could make was a "hrrmm", the air leaving her as her breathe was taken away.

Ikrie chuckled and pressed herself against Aloy, making the redhead have to step backwards towards the furry bedding they had piled onto the floor before dinner.

"Lie down, I'd like to warm you up now"

* * *

 

Aloy pulled Ikrie on top of herself. As she wrapped her legs around the other woman, a feeling of wholeness filled her. As aroused as she was, as much as she wanted to have the throbbing ache soothed, the adoring gaze being placed upon her with their bodies united this way she could have been content to just lay this way for the night.

Her right hand was free. She reached up to caress a stray lock of hair and set it behind Ikrie's ear only as an excuse to touch her wonderous face. Her heart fluttered.

"Good Gaia, you are beautiful, Ikrie" she spoke earnestly causing the Banuk's brow to furrow briefly before she replied with a smirk:

"I'm glad the sight of me pleases you."

The northern woman then hips forward creating sweet friction against Aloy's centre. Her mouth fell open and Ikrie caught the sound falling out into her own mouth and she rocked against her again and again. Aloy's head fell back exposing her neck to be devoured. Ikrie took the opportunity to begin her descent down her love's body marking her with gentle bites, some of which would hopefully bruise, and were then covered by soft kisses. She figured that if they were to die tomorrow, when their bodies were found, it would be known at least that Aloy was loved.

And she did. Moreso every second she was allowed to worship this woman. She spent moments on each breast sucking and nibbling, Aloy placed her hands in Ikrie's hair.

"Oh my!" she exclaimed, the sensations sending shocks of pleasure towards her core which was getting more difficult to ignore. She was torn between wanting to pull the woman back up to kiss her, or to push her head down to do what her mouth was so very good at. "Krie, please" she begged, desperate for her lover to do anything, but uncertain of what to say. "I need you."

"I know" was the throaty voiced response. Ikrie was aroused, but she was accustomed to not having her need taken care of. She had no doubt though, that she would soon be handing over control of her body to her fellow huntress; she was proud to feel okay with that. There was a hesitation inside of her, yet. Towards the back of her throat, a song was begging to be released, not just words about her feelings, but of all her wishes for this evening and all the ways she wanted to them make love together. They had shared many words today, and it was all a preamble to get to this place. For now, she would hold back her words, but not her tongue. She quickly finished her journey south and placed one of Aloy's legs over back to give her greater access.

"Oh, yes!" The young Nora woman sighed happily as the woman's talented mouth made delicious contact making thirsty sounds. Aloy was incredibly wet and already half primed when Ikrie began to minister to her; she tended to her clit with rapid steady motions; strong thighs again threatened to crush the Banuk's head, but she kept her pace encouraged by the incoherent words calling out from Aloy's mouth.

"Ehm ya!"

"Kay, ummm, ummm, ummm"

Ikrie knew Aloy was close her the fingers in her hair dug into her skull and the woman clenched her stomach forward, her moans rising in pitch steadily;

"aai, aaai, aaaai--!"

Then her shoulders slammed back into the bedding creating an electric arch in her back. Aloy sighed loudly as Ikrie's attention continued until her unwinding was complete. When she could take no more, she pulled her Banuk beside herself and tasted herself on those generous lips. They held one another tightly for a moment kissing but soon Ikrie's hand found its way back down again. The red haired woman was still very sensitive, it wouldn't take her long to reach her pinnacle again but she wanted more. She used her strong thigh to top her Ikrie and sat astride her. The motion caused the other to sit up as well.

"Sweet Gaia, I can't get enough of you" Aloy spoke husky voiced as she guided Ikrie to her entrance. The blonde woman smiled mischievously and kissed her love once more before sliding inside of her with two slim digits. Aloy cried out loudly, Ikrie groaned in delight.

"My Aloy" she said softly as the other woman began rocking her hips against her "I want to make you feel so good."

She then tightened her middle and forefinger and presented a third finger. Aloy was still in motion when she felt herself being filled even moreseo; her mouth fell open and her eyes closed as she took in the sensation.

"Oh?" Her breath came out like a question as she pulled herself back, then pushed forward again to take Ikrie in deeply. "Oh!" Her second sound came out approvingly. She opened her eyes only briefly and saw in that darkened gaze that Ikrie was about to do something terribly clever; she had only to realize it when suddenly her fingers curled upwards and found the sweet spot.

"Ah!"

Ikrie needed to only be still as her beloved thrust against her taking control of her own pleasure very loudly.

Aloy's face and chest began to perspire causing her skin to glow against the blue light in the room. To Ikrie, it gave Aloy the appearance of being a source of light itself, and her voice, the uninhibited animality of it was the song of nature, the song of her heart. That small organ in her chest pulsed quickly and without realizing it, she had begun breathing at Aloy's pace.  She pressed her thumb against the hard little nub and was rewarded by the reappearance of dark passionate eyes fixated on her own.

To the Nora, Ikrie appeared to be in a state of lustful delirium.  By her breathing and the flush in her normally pale features, the thought that somehow Ikrie was also being pleasured and that they may come together enhanced her own excitement.

Two hearts together raced up to the top of the cliff where the diving platform would bring one down to safety, and when Aloy reached its edge she pulled Ikrie with her somehow, a harmony and chaos of voices and bodies looking to one another to ensure they both survived the descent down to earth.  When they landed, Ikrie pulled Aloy on top of herself and giggled, completely giddy with the strange thing they had accomplished.  Aloy had no idea what was so funny, but she liked the musical sound from her dear one's mouth, so she smiled and lay her head down on Ikrie's chest.  She closed her eyes, only to fill herself with the feeling of being surrounded by the simple peace of being held by someone she could trust.  Her own life was so complicated, the world she knew was completely different than the one she understood just a year ago.  It would all be so difficult to explain, but if she had someone to share her own versions of the stories she had made, life would be so much less lonely.  She still needed to build her home at where she would call "Elisbet's Vigil" and in time find a way to reawaken Gaia, but the thought of leaving Ikrie felt impossible at this moment.  She clutched her lover closer at the thought of parting.

"Follow me" was her quiet plea before sleep swallowed her into darkness.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My original plan going into chapter eight was that I make it a full romantic episode so that I could concentrate on making chapter nine an adventure scene when they face The Claws Beneath. The problem is that I have been stagnant and stuck on this chapter and the night has only really just begun. Ikrie has a secret she needs to share, and it has to be this night because she promised herself earlier on that whatever was asked or needed, she would be completely honest and giving.
> 
> I've finally figured out how the story ends, and I need to set up things so it doesn't come out of left field. Maybe chapter ten could be the adventure chapter. 
> 
> I'll title the next part: "Your wound is my wound"
> 
>  
> 
> Also: Comments are welcome! Constructive criticisms, glowing reviews, little blurbs, anything! They motivate me to try hard to do better.


	9. Your Wound is my Wound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ikrie is ready to share a secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own any part of HZD
> 
> Trigger Warning!: There is a semi-graphic scene depicting something of a surgical nature. If the notion of bodies being destroyed by healers is too much, just skip the second half of the chapter.
> 
> Another Warning---Angst ahead and other mushy feelings...like I'm talking cringie feels that I might edit out after it's been read a few times.

Ikrie felt the weight of Aloy change on top of her and heard the steady calm breaths indicating the girl had fallen asleep. She sighed happily and placed her hands in those thick red tresses that were resting on her chest.

She would let her sleep for a few moments as she contemplated whether or not she had heard Aloy correctly.

"Fall for me"? Ikrie already had, if thats what had been said, it was difficult to hear the soft words beneath her own laughter.

As much as she wanted to believe that was what was being asked, she doubted Aloy was even capable of recognizing love, let alone being able to ask for it. Ikrie's notion was based on a conversation the two had over a month ago.

Shortly after giving the job of chieftain back to Aratak, Aloy happened to be going through the forest not far from Snowchants as she was searching for some ancient artefact for a collector close to Song's Edge. Aloy found her carving out some treasures from a sawtooth she had taken out as she was hunting for dinner. It had been Ikrie's good fortune that as the machine's blaze cannister exploded, a boar had been passing by and got caught up in the blast. Consequently, not only was Ikrie secured a meal, she also got to share it with the much celebrated outlander.

They sat around the fire Aloy in relative silence. Ikrie, although she felt good about sharing some company, Mailen had joined the White Teeth only a few weeks earlier. While her grief had been left in a crack in the ice, her lifelong companion was never far from her mind. Most of her own life stories had Mailen in them, it was difficult to share pieces of her past without digging into that ache again. As for Aloy, she seemed deep in thought as well, but since it was easier to ask questions than to answer them, Ikrie tried to fill the silence with probing questions about what life was like for the Nora.

She learned a few things about her friend that evening. One, the girl had a sweet tooth. Apparantly, she had been carrying Oseram chews in her pouch for days waiting for a special occasion to eat them. Aloy explained that she purchased them from an Oseram merchant whenever she was in Song's Edge but she believed he was now out of stock due to her habit. Ikrie accepted a single candy out of politeness, but no more. One of the tattoos on her body was for a person who ate a lot of sweets and it repulsed her, the thought of him and the sucking sounds he made when he was trying to coax the chewy bits out of his back teeth; the wet saliva, the smack of his lips. Thankfully, Aloy was not rude with her eating sounds, but Ikrie did find it funny how she would hum in delight after she popped one into her mouth.

Another thing she learned was Aloy's mother's name: Elisabet Sobeck. A strange foreign name, it didn't even sound Nora. Ikrie outright asked if she came from a different tribe and the girl became silent for a moment, seeming to think about how to answer before finally replying, "Yes." The conversation on her mother didn't go much further, because of course, she was raised by a man called Rost. On the topic of him, Aloy was happy to talk about the things he was able to do, survival skills he taught and the cottage they lived in the Nora Sacred Lands. The Banuk woman commented that it sounded like he loved her very much, the Nora winced and shook her head.

"He raised me because the High Matriarchs asked him to. I know he cared about me but..." then she shook her head again and then shrugged. "Growing up near the villages, sometimes I would get a glimpse of what their lives were like. I'd see things that they probably thought of as mundane, but it all looked special to me. I'd see friends laughing together around campfires...families would enter the woods together to forage for fruit and they sang songs they all knew the words and harmonies to. What I wished I didn't see were the other children, how their mothers would embrace them...The Nora revere children, they are showered with love!"

This was the third thing that Ikrie had learned, that Aloy was probably blind to what love could look like directed towards her. It would explain her discomfort with admirers, or why the girl couldn't see that Rost cared for her not only out of duty, but that he truly loved the child he had raised. However, because the man wouldn't hug her, she couldn't believe this to be true.

It had been an amusing thought though, that "Fall for Me" was being asked of her. Would the girl even be okay with being told she was loved? This was where her mind went to next. They were heavy words, and while she would be delighted if the feeling was mutual, she didn't expect it to be yet. After all, the romantic side of their relationship was barely even a day old. Perhaps it would be a cruel thing to confess ones feelings to someone just before you died; this was a very real possibility for at least one of them when they faced The Claws Beneath. On the other hand, when they were fourteen, Mailen was the first between them to declare her love. It had felt wonderful to hear because everything else in their lives at this point was horrible. Maybe if they survived, Ikrie could tell Aloy about those terrible first years after the Werak abandoned them, but definitely not tonight.

Her beloved flame-haired girl suddenly gasped and gripped Ikrie's waist as if to catch herself from falling off. Her eyes were wild as she looked up at the blonde.

"Oh no, I'm sorry I didn't mean to fall asleep!" she exclaimed. Ikrie smiled and caressed a few red strands off her face.

"It's okay, you fell asleep only a few moments ago."

Aloy frowned in confusion.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"I was only dreaming then. I dreamed I woke up and you were getting ready to leave. It was a very short dream, but I didn't get to have sex with you again. I was really sad."

Ikrie's head fell back and she couldn't help but laugh at the comment. Aloy gave a fake pout briefly but she loved the sound of the northern woman's laughter that she smirked in amusement.

"Sweet Song of my Heart," The Banuk sighed gazing into her beloved's eyes. "Trust me, I'm not letting you sleep much tonight. You are simply irresistible."

Aloy's eyes turned briefly before returning with a question.

"What does that mean?" she asked. Her mouth then latched onto Ikrie's left breast, her tongue swirled around the hardening nipple. Ikrie moaned softly, an instant heat filled her face and chest followed by a light throbbing down further. Her need, which had calmed when Aloy fell asleep was back with a vengeance. Her fingers were still in Aloy's hair, while she loved the attention to her breasts, she had an itch she needed scratching desperately and she pushed down on the other woman's head.

Aloy didn't push the question further then, she was simply happy to not have to negotiate to get to this point.

Her third attempt at this was much improved, the Nora was thrilled to discover. She tried some things she remembered Ikrie doing to her such as applying suction around her clit while licking at the same time.

"Fock yes!" the girl cried out, another Banuk expression with a meaning Aloy wasn't sure of, but in that moment as Ikrie raised her hips to grind her sex against Aloy's mouth, she knew it could only mean something good. The flame haired woman continued her ministrations for only a few moments more before she felt fingernails grip into her scalp and Ikrie's voice rise:

"Ah-ah-ah-ah" and then her voice broke into a quivering wail as her orgasm shook her. Aloy continued to lap at Ikrie's sweetness until the tremors stopped and then triumphantly, she got up and plopped herself on the furs beside the spent woman wearing a shit-eating grin.

"Tasty"

The blonde woman smiled widely, but she was clearly exhausted as she rolled to her side with half lidded eyes.

"I didn't understand how good that was supposed to feel." she admitted, her fingers lightly traced up and down Aloy's arm. "Whoever this Gaia is that you speak reverences to, tell her I thank her as well for you."

Gaia. Aloy would tell Ikrie about her sometime soon. There was so much she wanted to share, but she also wanted to know more about her Banuk lover as well, especially after that last declaration.

"I thought you and Mailen had been lovers?" she asked in confusion. "Am I mistaken?"

Ikrie's eyes winced at the mention of her former companion. She hadn't intended on talking about the darker truths about her past tonight, but as she promised herself earlier, she would deny her love nothing. Even if it meant scratching at scabs that had yet to turn into scars.

"Ye-es" she replied with an uneasy voice "and no. Mailen...had needs that I took care of, but she couldn't touch me back"

The Nora's eyes squinted as her mind tried to comprehend what that meant. Perhaps she was missing digits or had a short tongue?

"Why?" she finally asked as she grasped Ikrie's free hand and entwined their fingers together.

The blonde's eyes blanked out as though she were searching for the best way to say what she needed to. Aloy kissed her fingers, she couldn't not smile tenderly. By the blue light, and the snow, and everything else that gave one strength she loved this woman. Enough even to let her go if she wanted to run away now. She took in a breath and steeled her courage.

"I am afraid to tell you the truth Aloy but I will..." Ikrie gulped as her beloved's eyes looked between her lips and eyes with scrutiny. "even if it means you never want to touch me again."

She closed her eyes and imagined how much of the story she should share, what layers of pain she could survive telling tonight. There was the beginning of the story: the betrayal and the abandonment, the middle: the part where she nearly died or the end: the loneliness and sorrow. Because Aloy's query pertained to the middle, she decided she would start there and hoped to go no further.

"I told you Mailen suffered from nightmares. She wouldn't tell me what she dreamed, but sometimes she would cry out in her sleep; sometimes she would call out for her father or people we have known, sometimes she would wake up screaming my name. When she did, she would stare at her hands and I would know what she had remembered."

Ikrie's breath shuddered then as she struggled to not be silenced by emotion. She could feel the tears burning at the edges of her eyes as her shame reminded her of how weak she was and that Aloy was about to learn that she was unworthy. Aloy saw the tremble in her skin and felt only compassion. She pulled a blanket over top of them both and brought her body close to Ikrie's. Her hand went to her lover's back and she softly stroked.

"Is it too much?" The Nora woman asked gently. "I'm sorry. This is hurting you."

"No..." The Banuk's voice was but a whisper. "I can do it." It will be easier if you leave me now. "The truth is, that my insides have been destroyed. When Mailen looked at her hands, she was seeing my blood on them as she watched me lay dying."

Before she continued her story, she looked to Aloy's face. She could see the concern that would soon turn to judgment. She took Aloy's hand and held it against her stomach just to feel her once more before she was alone again.

"Were you attacked by a machine?" Aloy inquired. Logically, something had ripped into Ikrie, likely a sawtooth. Children alone made for easy prey.

"No. It was inside of me. A child. I was pregnant when the werak left us and we had nothing and nobody except each other. I was sick for months, and Mailen had to take care of us both. The girl came too early and I was weak...Mailen did what she had to do to save me." she couldn't stop the tears from falling now. The rest of her words came out like a poem. "The scars inside. The child died. 'Your wound is my wound' my love spoke to Ikrie. She's broken dear girl, the ice that shatters from the cavern ceiling when the warmth of summer kills all that is cold. Aloy, I am repulsive..."

Aloy's heart ached for the poor woman whose tear brimmed eyes struggled to stay open. She didn't move to wipe them away, she felt that if she let go of Ikrie's hand, she would take it as a sign that the outlander was rejecting her. Instead, she leaned over and kissed the tears on her cheeks, drinking in her salty wetness before resting their foreheads together. She sensed there was a lot more happening in the story than she was being told right now, but she definitely was not going to push it tonight. At this point in time, she was deducing that as strange as she thought the Banuk were before, they were exponentially more so now. Children were perceived as being a burden, yet, not being able to have them seemed to be a source of shame if she was reading Ikrie correctly. Furthermore, abandoning pregnant young women to the cruelty of winter was not a shame on the werak itself? She was angry, but not at Ikrie. The girl had suffered enough and at this moment, all she wanted was to comfort her.

"I don't understand Banuk customs, but I don't find you repulsive." Her lips softly brushed against Ikrie's. She moved them against her until their mouths began to motion together.

The Banuk woman was still on guard, it wasn't too late for Aloy to change her mind. She allowed her to kiss and caress her for a short while more before finally saying:

"You might yet."

Aloy tried to choose her next words carefully, and then a fitting analogy came to her she would share.

"Because part of you is forbidden?"

A shrug of shoulders was the reply.

"I've told you about some of the places I have been to, places others feared to explore. You know what? The scars of time are part of our stories and its important to accept them and to share their wisdom."

Ikrie's eyes clutched together briefly. Aloy's point she understood was meant to be serious, but she couldn't help but seek the humor in it as well. It gave her an excuse to let go of the tension she had been building up in sharing her wound with the girl.

"Ha-ha, I am an ancient cavern of mysteries" she forced herself to laugh on. The red head grimaced. That's not what she meant at all, but she could see it was part of Ikrie's defense mechanism: Smile when you're sad, laugh instead of cry. She didn't see the sense in commenting on the woman's assessment, instead she tried something different. She ran with the joke.

"Sure" Aloy began as she let go of Ikrie's hand and put it on her side. She began stroking her wounded lover's hips. "And I should go explore it then. I've been known to find treasures."

The blonde looked seriously then at the freckled face smirking tenderly towards her. The cruel voice inside of her cried out "Yes! Let her know what a monster you are!" while a softer, kinder voice, the one saved for sparing prey when she learned they had young or the one who refused to let Ikrie leave Mailen to die on the glacier, that voice also cried out "Yes! Trust her!"

"Yes." She said out loud as her heart began to beat fast both out of terror and excitement.

They took their time together. Aloy was cautious and checked in with Ikrie, making sure she was present and comfortable every step of the way. The redhaired woman once again loved her with her mouth her before attempting to enter and after, Ikrie lay atop Aloy's chest feeling perplexed in their embrace.

It was wrong.

Not being made love to, but everything she thought was going on inside of her.

After giving birth, she experienced pain in her womb for months. Because she had bled so much during the delivery, at some point she blacked out. When she awoke days later, Mailen was in tears, still trying to wash the blood out of her clothes. She knew her companion had to create more damage inside to stem the bleeding, so much so that when they finally began to share warmth together, Mailen was afraid to reciprocate the affection.

When Aloy entered, first with a single digit, and then a second, she said she wasn't sure what she damage should feel like. Ikrie had to be honest, she didn't know what it would feel like either; probably like jagged, poorly healed scars.

What Aloy claimed to feel other than heat and softness were a few bumpy textures. It didn't hurt like she imagined it would either, but she could feel Aloy inside her carefully exploring. Those fingers were still within when she put her mouth back onto Ikrie, and when she climaxed, she could feel her walls quiver up against them.

How?  She was supposed to be dead inside.  This is why it was an easy choice to live the rest of her days alone; it would be much easier than having to see the look of disgust towards her on the face of someone she loved.  Again.

Her ruminating was interrupted by Aloy rubbing her back and sighing.

"'Krie?"  she asked, uncertain if the Banuk woman was still awake.

Ikrie smiled as the pain in her chest was swept out and joy put in its place.  She looked up, her chin rested in the valley between Aloy's breasts.  She said nothing, and merely looked upon that precious face and wondered how she could possibly contain the words her heart longed to say much longer.  

"Thank you for trusting me."  Aloy continued.  Her eyes became large then before she winced suddenly as though she had been struck by a sudden pain.  "Thank you...for everything."

There was a sadness in her beloved orbs, Ikrie could recognize.  She climbed up Aloy's body and then lay next to her so that they faced one another.  Hands clasped together and fingers interlocked.  Aloy blinked quickly as emotions threatened to make her cry.

"Aloy?"  

The Nora's jaw opened as if to release words, and instead an impotent gasp fell out and she closed her mouth again.  This strong and noble woman was trying to deny her own feelings, it made Ikrie want to help her any way she could, even if it was something uncomfortable for the both of them.

"Tell me" she implored with a barely audible voice.  Aloy tried to smile and she nodded before she took one more breath and shared.

"I don't have language for...this...my chest, it aches, yet...it brims with joy.  Especially when I look at you.  It feels like the end of the journey, and I've found something precious that I didn't even know I was looking for.  I don't know what this is..."

Ikrie's lips formed an O shape, as it struck her that perhaps her feelings were not one sided after all.  A snowsquall of bliss covered her, filled her and made her pure as untouched snow; she was again one with the land and nature, not apart from it as is the destiny of those who choose to be ghosts.  Her love to be given and received.  She squeezed the hand within her own, hers whom she would stand next to, never alone again.

"My Aloy" her voice was reverent as a prayer, "My heart, my joy, my love."

In their hands she felt Ikrie's gentle strength, in her words, she felt truth.  That elusive word she couldn't figure out, it was real, it was the woman beside her now.

"Love" she stated simply, tasting the word, letting it make sense of the sandstorm of confusing emotions within her.  

"Love" she said again, and the mysteries she couldn't see before her became clearer as the dust of the storm calmed down.  

"I do."

Outside, the warmth of the changing seasons was slowly melting the snow.  The moon was large and brilliantly bright as it made it's voyage across the sky.  It made for a good night for travellers who journeyed far and wide because victory was coming, and new songs would be sung around the fires of Ban-Ur soon enough.  But these things didn't matter within the great lodge at Snowchants Hunting grounds.  

Ikrie and Aloy loved again, united in the knowledge that their hearts were one.  In the end, their bodies were spent and they lay wrapped in each others arms as sleep beckoned them.  Yet, as Aloy closed her eyes, just as the first time she had said it, she couldn't stop.  Her last words before she succumbed to slumber:

"I love you,"

"I love you"

"I love you."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I have two chapters left to go, it depends on how much time it takes me to write the next chapter then of course I'll break it in two just as I did with Chapters 8 and 9.
> 
> As always, reviews are mist welcome.
> 
> The next chapter is probably going to be called: When a Victory is a Loss
> 
> The last chapter is tentatively called: Song of My Heart.


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